Thursday, 10 January 2019
12pm to 2pm (12pm-Lunch, 1pm–Talk)
Farrer Park Medical Centre, 1 Farrer Park Station Road, Connexion #16-06, TK Low Academic Specialist Centre, Singapore 217562
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women worldwide and locally advanced breast cancer affects 10-15% of all presentations of breast cancer. This presents with fungation, bleeding, pain and infection and is more common in developing countries with poorer access to medical care.
Radiotherapy is widely used for such tumors as such patients tend to be older, unable to tolerate or progress with chemotherapy, targeted agents and hormonal treatments. They often have extensive dermal involvement with fixed tumor to the underlying pectoralis muscles that precludes upfront surgery. Many different doses and fractionations have been used but the optimum schedule is unknown. There have been few publications relating to fungating breast tumor treatments and outcomes.
The CME Lunch Talk will focus on a decade experience of radiotherapy usage in the 2 largest tertiary restructured hospitals locally. The various aspect of radiation use in neoadjuvant, adjuvant and palliative setting will be discussed, focusing too on the radiobiology of the various available doses and fractionations in radiotherapy that are commonly used in breast cancer.
*This session is open to doctors and healthcare professionals only. Thank you.
Call us to register or email us at [email protected].
Radiation Oncologist
Icon SOC Farrer Park Medical Clinic, Farrer Park Medical Centre
Dr Choo Bok Ai is a Senior Radiation Oncologist with 16 years of experience in caring for patients with cancer. He practices at Icon SOC clinic at Farrer Park Medical Centre.
Dr Choo graduated from the University of Aberdeen, UK in 1998 and went on to obtain his postgraduate internal medicine training qualification from the London Royal College of Physicians in 2002. He completed his clinical oncology specialist training in 2007 in Birmingham, UK, and is a Fellow of the UK Royal College of Radiologists. He joined the Academy of Medicine Singapore as a Fellow in 2013 and is currently the Vice Chairman of the Chapter of Radiation Oncology. Dr Choo was the 2011 treasurer of the Singapore Society of Oncology and an Assistant Professor in Medicine at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, from 2011-2018.
His wide ranging practice includes advanced radiation therapy technologies, precision medicine and the treatment of breast, gynecological, head and neck, skin and sarcoma cancers. Dr Choo is skilled in the use of IMRT, IGRT, VMAT, RapidArc, SBRT and SRS in treating cancers. He helped set up the first MRI based cervical interstitial and intracavity brachytherapy during his tenure at National University Hospital from 2009-2018, and has taught at various postgraduate teaching courses within the region.
Dr Choo was the principal investigator in three cervical cancer clinical and translational trials and a co-investigator in nine others. As part of these trials, he successfully obtained grants from the National Cancer Institute Singapore, Terry Fox and the New Investigator Grant from the National Medical Research Council Singapore. He has published over 25 peer review articles in medical journals and wrote the chapter on clinical research in the Encyclopaedia of Radiation Oncology. He speaks regularly at local, regional and international meetings.
Dr Choo has a strong commitment to patient care from diagnosis to treatment and beyond. In 2010, he established the NCIS Nasopharyngeal Cancer Patient Support Group, of which he was the medical advisor, and started the Befriender’s peer-to-peer supportive service. In 2016, he founded the Singapore Sarcoma Support Group and acted as the medical advisor. He organizes yearly public forums to raise cancer awareness and was awarded the Singapore Patient Advocate Award in 2016 for his work in patient supportive services. In 2018, he received the highest accolade in the Healthcare Humanity award with an honorable mention and a medal from the President of Singapore.