Yonsei University Health System (YUHS) said it has been named as the top cancer research institution in Korea at the "2020 Cancer Research Top 100 Medical Institutions" released by the global scientific journal Nature.
Among the articles written by YUHS professors and submitted to science-citation-index (SCI)-grade journals from Dec. 1, 2018, to Nov. 30, 2019, Nature chose 45 papers by dividing them into the categories of life sciences, chemistry, and physical sciences.
In the life sciences category, 33 articles were published, including eight nature communications articles (impact factor 11.878). In the chemistry category, nine studies, including two analytical chemistry pieces (impact factor 6.350), were published. Six, including two on advanced functional materials (impact factor 15.621), were published in the physical sciences category.
Nature highlighted two YUHS professors' publications as excellent studies, and extensively introduced them on its webpage.
One of them was “Tumour exosomal CEMIP protein promotes cancer cell colonization in brain metastasis,” which was published on Nature Cell Biology (impact factor 17.728) in November 2019. Professor Kim Han-sang of Department of Medical Oncology at Yonsei Cancer Center (YCC) and researchers from overseas conducted the study together.
The other was “FXR Regulates Intestinal Cancer Stem Cell Proliferation,” which was published on Cell in February 2019. Yonsei University College of Medicine Severance Biomedical Science Institute Professor Fang Sung-soon and other international scholars released the study.
"The achievement was made with an effort to strengthen research capabilities in developing new anticancer drugs, such as contracting for research on immune anti-cancer drugs and attracting research funds in developing new drugs for lung cancer," YUHS Director Yoon Do-heum said.
Yonsei Cancer Center Director Keum Ki-chang said, “YCC, the first cancer center in Korea established in 1969, is aiming to become the world's best cancer hospital beyond the nation and Asia, based on the history and tradition of cancer therapy, accumulated experiences, and international research and treatment network.”
He went on to say, "We are trying to achieve good results with our patients to become a hospital that provides high-quality cancer treatment, including intractable cancer. The completion of the first particle cancer care center in Korea in 2022 will further strengthen cancer treatment and research capabilities."