Distinguished Professorship Awarded to Advance Research and Education to Optimise Care for Older Adults with Cancer

Cancer is a disease of ageing with rising prevalence globally. Older adults with cancer often suffer complex medical and social problems compared to their younger counterparts. Geriatric oncology was developed as a subspecialty when oncologists recognised this growing, unmet need of older cancer patients and initiated geriatric assessments to ensure older patients receive personalised and integrated treatment. 

The Distinguished Professorship in Geriatric Oncology was established under the SingHealth Duke-NUS Oncology Academic Clinical Programme (ONCO ACP), with a generous gift of $2.5million from Mr Kuok Khoon Hong, chairman and CEO of Wilmar International, to drive transformative geriatric oncology research and educational programmes that will optimise treatment for older adults with cancer. 

Assoc Prof Kanesvaran is a highly respected clinician, educator and key opinion leader locally and internationally in the fields of geriatric oncology and genitourinary oncology. He championed the provision of holistic oncology care for elderly patients and leads the first geriatric oncology clinical and research service in South-East Asia, set up under the auspices of the ONCO ACP. The service is run by a multidisciplinary team of physicians, nurses and allied health professionals, who deliver personalised integrated treatment to elderly cancer patients. Assoc Prof Kanesvaran has published widely in the fields of geriatric oncology and genitourinary oncology, with more than 220 peer reviewed publications and book chapters. He is an active educator and mentor who has developed training modules for post-graduate courses in geriatric oncology and genitourinary cancers. 

Assoc Prof Kanesvaran served as Board Member and was the first Asian to be elected President of the International Society of Geriatric Oncology (SIOG) from 2020 to 2022, leading geriatric oncology initiatives in education, research and public policy across the globe. He was past Council member of the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) and was the first Asian to be awarded the Fellow of ESMO (FESMO) Award in 2023. At the national level, Assoc Prof Kanesvaran serves as co-chair of the Ministry of Health’s Drugs Advisory Committee (Oncology Drug Sub-Committee) and is Vice-Chairman of the Singapore Cancer Society. 

The conferment of the SingHealth Duke-NUS Distinguished Professorship in Geriatric Oncology is an endorsement of Assoc Prof Kanesvaran outstanding achievements and commitment to fostering collaborations, education and mentorship, which will transform care, training and research for geriatric oncology. 

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For media queries, please contact: 

Ms Lo Sok Wan 

Corporate Communications 

National Cancer Centre Singapore 

Email: [email protected] 

About the National Cancer Centre Singapore 

The National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS) is a leading national and regional tertiary cancer centre with specialists who are experts in treating cancer. In addition to offering holistic and multidisciplinary oncology care, our clinicians and scientists collaborate with local and international partners to conduct robust, cutting-edge clinical and translational research. To achieve its vision of being a global leading cancer centre, NCCS offers world-class care and shares its depth of experience and expertise by training local and overseas medical professionals. 

To meet growing healthcare needs, the new NCCS building opened in 2023 with increased capacity and expanded facilities dedicated to cancer care, rehabilitation, research and education. To give patients the best treatment outcomes, advanced and innovative treatment such as proton therapy is offered at the new Goh Cheng Liang Proton Therapy Centre at NCCS. 

In 2024, NCCS celebrates its silver anniversary, celebrating 25 years of advancing cancer care from breakthroughs to healing.

For more information, please visit: www.nccs.com.sg