INEN, MD Anderson sign sister institution agreement

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center today signed a sister institution agreement with the National Cancer Institute of Peru. Also known as the Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Neoplásicas, INEN is Peru's sole national referral center for cancer. The agreement was signed during a ceremony at the Palacio de Gobierno presidential palace in Lima.

The agreement formalizes plans to collaborate on groundbreaking achievements in cancer research and care that will benefit patients in the United States, Latin America and around the world.

The sister agreement includes cooperation in physician education and training, research collaborations, faculty exchange visits, scientific endeavors, nursing and other technical support staff training, and more.

Raymond N. DuBois, M.D., Ph.D. provost and executive vice president of MD Anderson and Carlos Vallejos Sologuren, M.D., INEN director, led the ceremony. It culminated in a two-day international symposium featuring presentations from faculty at both institutions on the latest discoveries in clinical and research studies in oncology. Peruvian President Alan Garcia, M.D., also attended as well as members from his cabinet.

"MD Anderson's mission is to eliminate cancer throughout the world. To be successful we must collaborate with international institutions who share our commitment," said DuBois. "We're confident that adding INEN to our network will advance our international exchanges. It will help raise the standard of patient care and offer unique research opportunities for promising discoveries that will ultimately reduce the burden of cancer for people everywhere."

INEN was founded in 1952, and is under the jurisdiction of the Peruvian government through the Ministry of Health. It currently holds an agreement with the Peruvian National Cancer Foundation that supports various research activities. INEN is best known for its specialties in clinical care, medical education in oncology and oncology research.

Headquartered in the capital city of Lima, the institute created the first formal Peruvian residency program in medical and surgical oncology, and the first of its kind in South America. It also has trained more than 800 specialists and INEN residency graduates are now the leaders in other cancer centers around the country.

"INEN is proud to signs this sister institution agreement with MD Anderson. As the global leader in cancer treatment and research, its association with INEN will surely advance our mutual goals of combating cancer," said Vallejos.

The relationship between the two institutions developed, in part, from the efforts of Vallejos, who is a former MD Anderson fellow and an ex-Minister of Health of Peru.

At the outset, long-term and short-term research fellowship training at MD Anderson is planned for the INEN faculty. They'll focus primarily on projects in clinical research, epidemiology, basic and translational research, bioinformatics, biostatistics, and others. Workshops, symposia and conferences are also envisioned.

The sister institution agreement with INEN is MD Anderson's most recent international academic collaboration to further the eradication of cancer worldwide through scientific discovery, advanced patient therapies, education and prevention. There are also Latin American sister institution agreements in Brazil and Chile.