Stephen J. Solarz Memorial International Laboratory – bilateral collaboration with the US National Cancer Institute

Lung cancer, tracheal and bronchial cancer are showing an increasing trend year by year, especially lung cancer, which has the highest mortality rate among all cancers in both Taiwan and the United States. Although most patients in Taiwan and the United States are diagnosed with lung adenocarcinoma, there are significant differences in gene mutations. Most Taiwanese patients have EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) gene mutations, while the majority of patients in the United States have KRAS gene mutations, and only about 10% of patients have EGFR gene mutations. Identifying the type of gene mutation is a prerequisite for clinicians to choose lung cancer treatment strategies and target drugs. Different gene mutations also mean that there should be different treatment strategies between Caucasian and Asian populations. Stephen J. Solarz International Laboratory, located at the Taipei Veterans General Hospital, is a joint venture between Taiwan and the United States, and the first cross-border collaborative laboratory established overseas by the US National Institutes of Health. Its aim is to explore the differences in cancer genes between Asians and Westerners, hoping to develop more precise clinical treatment methods by understanding the factors that cause these differences.

Mr. Stephen J. Solarz served as a member of the United States House of Representatives for nearly twenty years during his lifetime. He was very friendly towards Taiwan and presented several bills in Congress in support of Taiwan. He also visited Taiwan many times and provided support for Taiwan in various ways. After the former congressman Solarz passed away, his wife Nina K. Solarz established a foundation in his name to support the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the United States in cancer research and treatment. The foundation also provided opportunities for Taiwanese doctors to conduct research in the United States.

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) is a part of the National Institute of Health (NIH) in the United States. It was established in 1937 and is responsible for basic cancer research, treatment development, and clinical trials for new drugs. It is one of the most important and top cancer research institutions in the United States and the world. With the support of the Solarz Memorial Foundation, the foundation and the NCI came to Taiwan multiple times in 2017 to seek potential partners for collaboration. The research capabilities of the Taipei Veterans General Hospital and National Yang-Ming University stood out. After more than a year of discussion, the Solarz Memorial International Laboratory was officially launched in 2019.

Several scientists from the United States will be stationed at Taipei Veterans General Hospital, focusing on researching the genomic and epigenomic differences of lung cancer and upper respiratory tract cancer between Eastern and Western populations.

This is a large-scale Taiwan-US collaborative research project. The US side will be led by Dr. David Schrump, the chief of the Thoracic and Gastrointestinal Oncology Branch at the National Cancer Institute, and the Taiwan side will be jointly led by Dr. Shih-Hwa Chiou, the head of the Medical Research Department at Taipei Veterans General Hospital, and Dr. Mu-Hua Yang, the Vice President of National Yang-Ming University and the director of the Center of Excellence for Cancer Metabolism. The multinational collaboration laboratory will combine the genomics science and pathological expertise of the team to study the differences in tumor characteristics among different ethnic groups, including tumor immunology, cancer stem cells, and precision medicine.

This is the first oversea cooperative laboratory that NCI established. Special thanks to the American Institute in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Education for their assistance in the negotiations between Taiwan and the US. This bilateral cooperation is of great significance in addressing the important issues on lung and upper respiratory tract cancers as well as the development of advanced treatments. It is highly anticipated for achieving a win-win situation for Taiwan and the US, as well as patients, and reducing lung cancer mortality rates.

Chronicle of the Cross-National Collaboration between TVGH and NCI:

1. February 2017: Nina K. Solarz, the widow of the late US Senator Stephen J. Solarz, David Schrump, Director of NCI, and others visited various medical centers in Taiwan to seek suitable partners for establishing a cross-national laboratory. They visited the TVGH-NYCU team for the second time.
2. August 2017: The Stephen J. Solarz Memorial Fund and Dr. Schrump's team selected the TVGH-NYCU team to collaborate and establish a cross-national laboratory.
3. April 2018: The TVGH-NYCU team visited the US to discuss matters related to setting up the collaboration laboratory.
4. January 2019: TVGH and NCI signed an official memorandum of understanding for the Taiwan-US Cancer Laboratory cooperation through the North American Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the American Institute in Taiwan.
5. March 2019: Nina K. Solarz and the NCI team, led by Director Schrump, visited TVGH to listen to presentations and held a press conference to officially announce the Taiwan-US bilateral lung cancer research collaboration. The bilateral collaborative research proposal were started being discussed.
6. September 2020: TVGH and NCI signed the cross-national collaboration laboratory execution plan through the North American Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the American Institute in Taiwan. The plan includes a five-year Taiwan-US bilateral medical research project on lung cancer.
7. The collaboration laboratory is located on the 9th floor of TVGH Medical Technology Building and focuses on lung cancer stem cell research, lung cancer tumor immunomodulation, and biomarkers for developing precision medicine for lung cancer.
8. TVGH, NYCU, and NCI hold trilateral online academic meetings every month with participating scholars and clinical physicians from all three parties.

September 2021: The Taiwan-US bilateral international collaboration laboratory held the "Taiwan-US Lung Cancer Research Bilateral Conference and Cross-National Laboratory Launch Ceremony" on September 24, 2021, both physically and online. This was the first research publication from the cross-national laboratory, and scientists from both sides shared their research insights on lung cancer and upper respiratory and digestive tract cancer through video conferencing. After the conference, the American Institute in Taiwan praised this bilateral collaboration milestone on its official Facebook page.