january, 2019 | Th e HealtH
HealtH Business
aWaReNeSS
CaMPaIGN... left
to right: Mundipharma
Medical Director
Singapore & Malaysia
South east asia Medical
Head Dr Murtaza Qasuri,
Dr Klaus Schuster and Dr
Kua Voon Fong launching
the campaign recently.
Driving precision
medicine with
tumour profi ling
a complementary
approach to
treating cancer
T
O lend impact to treat-
ment options for cancer
patients, Mundipharma
Phar-maceuticals Sdn
Bhd (Mundipharma)
entered into an agree-
ment with Caris Life
Sciences (Caris), a leading US biotech-
nology company to promote Caris
Molecular Intelligence (CMI), the
largest and most experienced tumour
profi ling platform, to Malaysia in late
2016. Previously, tumour profiling
was only applicable to certain types of
cancer such as breast, lung and colorec-
tal cancers. Caris Molecular Intelligence
is the fi rst of its kind tumour profi ling
service that uses multiple tumour
profi ling technologies to decode many
types of cancer.
With Caris Molecular Intelligence,
upon two weeks of sending a tissue
sample to Caris’ modern laboratory
in Phoenix, Arizona, a report with
comprehensive and reliable informa-
tion will be delivered to the oncologist
to ensure they have the most advanced
and latest data when evaluating how
best to ‘attack’ their patient’s tumour.
In an eff ort to continue to drive
awareness and greater understanding
of how tumour profi ling can provide
timely and reliable information to
impact cancer care treatment options,
Mundipharma and Caris jointly
launched the “Treat Cancer Smarter
with Tumour Profiling” awareness
campaign recently. Caris Life Sciences
International Medical Director Dr.
VOL 2: 09 | Month of January, 2019 | RM5.00 | PP19292/03/2018 (034850) | www.sihatmalaysia.my
Month Of January, 2019
www.sihatmalaysia.my
Pacemaker
for the pregnant
PET-CT Scan
is 90% more
accurate
PET-CT Scan is a type
of imaging device
which combines
radiopharmaceuticals,
a specialized camera lens,
and an advanced
computer system to
detect abnormalities
in our bodies. – p09
Plus: Special
pullout – IJN
CLEAN AIR,
our right
T
obacco use is the
leading preventable
cause of death in the
world. Apart from the harms
smoking causes to smokers,
exposure to second-han d
smoke is a major public
health hazard. Everyone has
the right to breathe. Clean
air is our fundamental right.
Th e Health supports the Blue
Ribbon Campaign to inform
smokers and non-smokers
alike about tobacco smoke’s
harms. – p08-11
2019 Budget Highlights Wonder Women
– p12-13 – p14&15 – p20
2019 Budget for health- Malaysian fertility
care aims for impact
in jeopardy
Exclusive
Planning motherhood
years in advance
RISING FROM POVERTY TO A REVERED TYCOON – p22&23
Pregnant woman with
heart condition gets
pacemaker through 3D
mapping system.
– p05
The cure
for weak
hearts
People living with heart failure faces
eternal hardship in life, as they will be
subjected to all life-risking problems,
even with the use of pacemakers, those
whose hearts are tremendously weak will
not live a comfortable life. – p04&05
Klaus Schuster said, “The future of
cancer treatment steers towards a more
personalised and tailor-made therapy.
Tumour profi ling and precision medi-
cine off ers a complementary win-win
support to the current standard of care.
With tumour profi ling, on-cologists
can identify various anti-cancer-ther-
apies that may not have been readily
considered to give patients more treat-
ment options with a higher probability
of success. Profi ling tumour not only
improves clinical outcomes, but it
can also optimise resource allocation,
avoiding unnecessary side eff ects and
unnecessary toxicity.”
“Also known as molecular profi ling,
tumour profi ling is a form of testing
that categorises tumours based on its
genetic make-up to help diagnose and
treat cancer with Precision Medicine.
From a [tissue-based] biopsy from the
patient’s tumour, tumour profiling
examines the DNA of the cancer cells,
looking for biomarkers and genetic
alterations that have been acquired
by these cells,” Consultant Clinical
Oncologist Dr Kua Voon Fong said.
Th e results derived from tumour
profi ling gives oncologists a signifi cant
amount of predictive, prognostic and
therapeutic information early in the
patient’s cancer diagnosis. Th is is vital
because the fi rst course of treatment is
often the most important in control-
ling, and perhaps curing, the cancer!
According to the National Institute
for Health and Care Excellence (NICE),
patients who may benefi t from Caris
Molecular Intelligence include those
with advanced cancers, rare or aggres-
sive cancer, where no standard of care
is defi ned and patients looking for pos-
sible multiple treatment options. – Th e
Health
Dear Doctor
S
END your questions to the editor
at editor@revonmedia.com with
contact details and passport
sizephoto. Chosen questions will be
answered by our panel doctors and
will be published in our monthly edi-
tion of Th e Health.
Question: When does an eye
stroke happen?
Answer: Pantai Hospital Kuala
Lumpur Consultant Ophthalmologist,
Dr K. Sivamalar revealed that eye
strokes takes place when there is
a blockage or an occlusion in the
artery or the veins of the retinal blood
vessels leading to a sudden loss of
vision or gradually increasing blurring
of vision.
Question: if a
child starts
to stutter at
a young age,
would it resolve
when they get
older?
Answer: Pantai
Hospital Kuala Lumpur Paediatrician
consultant and Developmental
Paediatrician Dr Raja Juanita Raja
Lope assured that for many children,
it will actually resolve by the time they
are seven years old.
Question: Does
consuming too
much salt in
our diet cause
kidney stones?
Answer: Sunway
Medical Centre
Consultant
Physician and Nephrologist Dr Ng
Eng Khim
Salt intake has always been
associated to high blood pressure.
An unhealthy eating habit leads
to acquiring kidney failure and not
stones. Common causes are high
levels of calcium, uric acids and
oxalate that form in the kidney
causing them to develop as stones.
07
07
The all new
sports+ by
Tune Protect
SPORtS+, Tune Protect’s first on-
demand protection plan was recently
launched. It is one of the few plans
available in Malaysia that covers a wide
range of extreme sports, and provides the
fl exibility of selecting cover from just a
day, up to a year, all within a few taps at
tuneprotect.com/sports. Sports+ is the
perfect companion for sport enthusiasts,
fi tness buff s or anyone who needs protec-
tion from accidental injuries, unforeseen
medical expenses and sports equipment
damage.
(left to right) at the launch was
active power-couple Dennis Yin,
Jazel lim, tune Protect Group
Berhad chief digital & marketing
offi cer loh Ben Jern, Razman
Hafi dz abu Zarim, thai Mei lih and
tune Protect Re principal offi cer
Ooi Chuan Keat.
Tune Protect’s Sports+ is the first
on-demand protection plan for the
group. Th e move is in line with their
commitment to being a leading lifestyle
enabler in the region, and part of the
digital transformation rolled out by the
Company.
“In line with the ability to choose your
‘price’, Tune Protect’s Sports+ has two
off erings providing total coverage of up
to RM33,500 or RM56,000 for accidental
death or permanent disablement, medical
expenses and sports equipment damage.
Th e premium payable depends on the
choice of plan and duration of cover
(between 24 hours and a year), which
ranges from RM5 to RM350 (excluding
Stamp Duty).
“Just like ride-sharing apps like grab,
where you hail a cab when you need it,
similarly, protection on-demand allows
you to operate the same way – getting
your protection on-the-spot, with just a
few taps before you decide to jump into
that kayak, or when you’re standing at
that triathlon starting line,” Tune Protect
group Chief Executive Offi cer Razman
Hafi dz proudly remarked. – Th e Health