Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital

On September 2, Hallym University Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital held a workshop to commemorate the introduction of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) at Michael Hall in Main Building #3.

The workshop was for faculty group and consisted of 3 sessions. They are ‘Principles of NGS’ by Professor Dong Jin Lee of Otorhinolaryngology and Professor Seri Jeong of Laboratory Medicine, ‘Use of NGS Panel’ by Clinical Pathologist Chang-Ahn Seol, Song Ju Sun of Laboratory Medicine both at GC labs and Professor Min Je Han of Laboratory Medicine at Kangdong Sacred Heart Hospital, and ‘NGS Usage for Cancer’ by Professor Su Jin Shin of Diagnostic Pathology at Gangnam Severance Hospital and Professor Hee-sang Hwang of Pathology at Asan Medical Center.

NGS is a technology that analyzes a large amount of genetic information quickly and accurately. It has high sensitivity and specificity enough to discriminate even rare genes.

Particularly in cancer treatment, the NGS test identifies each individual patient’s genetic mutations enabling the use of targeted drugs and cancer immunotherapy. As the accuracy of treatment increases, the patients can expect a better treatment prognosis.

People can predict the incidence rate of cancer through tests even if they are healthy, and prevent it by using drugs depending on the results. Early detection and treatment are also possible through regular examination for various types of cancer with a high incidence rate.

"It is important to discover accurate genetic mutations in order to determine which targeted drug will be used in anticancer treatment," said Director Young Goo Lee. He also added, "Hallym University Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital will prescribe optimal targeted treatments based on genetic mutations identified by NGS. Kangnam Hospital will work at full capacity to help many cancer patients regain healthy lives."

Kangnam Hospital has introduced the NGS test system since September and has been providing customized ‘precision medical care’ to each individual patient.

By Lee Hyuk Joo, Int’l Cooperation Team, HUMC (hyukjoolee@hallym.or.kr)