NCCN expands agreement to improve cancer care in Vietnam

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network^® (NCCN^®) today announced the signing of a new agreement with the Viet Nam National Cancer Hospital (K Hospital) and The Vietnam Cancer Association (VCA), expanding a longstanding collaboration to improve cancer care through the adaptation and use of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines.

Under the new agreement, NCCN and K Hospital will work together to add three additional NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines^®) Adaptations for Vietnam:

• B-Cell Lymphomas
• Hodgkin Lymphoma
• Thyroid Carcinoma

This marks an important expansion into hematologic malignancies and adds thyroid carcinoma, building on previous work on the following solid tumors:

• Breast
• Colon
• Gastric
• Hepatocellular
• Non-Small Cell Lung
• Ovarian
• Prostate
• Rectal

The ongoing collaboration with Viet Nam National Cancer Hospital helps ensure that people with cancer in Vietnam receive timely, consistent, and high-quality care. This project combines global expertise with local insights for evidence-based, expert consensus-driven recommendations tailored to the needs and realities of the country. We're honored to be able to broaden the scope to now include the lymphomas, which are among the most common blood cancers, as well as thyroid cancer."

Crystal S. Denlinger, MD, CEO, NCCN

The NCCN Guidelines^® Adaptations for Vietnam provide recommendations based on proven best practices. They are adapted from the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines^®) to reflect differences in available resources, population needs, clinical practice patterns, and regulatory environments in Vietnam versus those in the United States, for whom the NCCN Guidelines are primarily written. The guidance is color coded to indicate which options are generally available, which are more aspirational based on cost or technical challenges, and effective substitutions in situations where the preferred standard of care is not feasible.

"These guidelines, developed in close collaboration with NCCN experts, have been thoroughly reviewed and discussed by leading Vietnamese oncology experts representing the Northern, Central, and Southern regions of the country," said Prof. Le Van Quang, MD, PhD, Director, Viet Nam National Cancer Hospital (K Hospital). "The adapted guidelines take into account the resources and practice conditions in Vietnam and complement the national guidelines of the Ministry of Health. This serves as a vital resource for oncologists nationwide, supporting clinicians in making informed decisions from diagnosis to treatment for their cancer patients."

The agreement signing took place in connection with the international conference Best of ASCO 2026 (Cancer in the Era of Global Integration), hosted by Viet Nam National Cancer Hospital in Hanoi on November 5–6, 2026, where more than 400 attendees and over 70 international experts witnessed the signing ceremony. NCCN representatives also participated in educational sessions. Dr. Denlinger was joined by NCCN Guidelines Panel Members Jaffer A. Ajani, MD, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Stacey A. Cohen, MD, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Meena S. Moran, MD, Yale Cancer Center/Smilow Cancer Hospital, and Sandy Srinivas, MD, Stanford Cancer Institute.

NCCN offers more than 90 international adaptations and over 180 translations of the NCCN Guidelines and related clinical resources, available for free at NCCN.org/global or via the Virtual Library of NCCN Guidelines^® App.