Qatar University (QU) College of Medicine (CMED) hosted Dr Khawla S al-Kuraya, director of King Fahad National Centre for Children’s Cancer at King Faisal Specialist Hospital last week. It also included a presentation by Dr al-Kuraya on “the Molecular Classification of Saudi Colorectal Cancer”.
The visit was organised in conjunction with QU Biomedical Research Centre (BRC). It came as part of the college’s ongoing efforts to foster collaboration between cancer scientists and clinicians in QU and Qatar, and their counterparts from countries in the Middle East.
CMED and BRC faculty and students were briefed on colorectal cancer tumor size and stages, and on the role of genetic and epigenetic combinations in colorectal cancer.
Dr al-Kuraya noted that colorectal cancer molecular profiles differ among individuals from the Middle East and western countries. “It is the third most common cancer worldwide and is the second most common cancer related to death,” she said.
She further noted that, according to the Saudi Cancer Registry 2010, colorectal cancer accounts for 10.4% of all cancers in Saudi Arabia and is the most common cancer in males and the third most common in females after breast and thyroid cancers. It is estimated that the incidence will increase by four fold by 2030.
QU vice president for Medicine and Health and CMED dean Dr Egon Toft said: “This visit comes in line with Qatar’s National Cancer Research Strategy to develop a programme of translated cancer research, and to prioritise and coordinate cancer research activities in Qatar and the region. It highlights the college’s mission to support National Health Strategy and to disseminate research and create new connections and collaborations in Qatar and beyond.”
Dr al-Kuraya is the first Saudi female recipient of the prestigious “First Rank King Abdulaziz Medal” for her pioneering initiatives in cancer research. She was appointed in 2013 by King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia as one of the first women to be a member of the Majlis Al Shura Council of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Her research portfolio comprises over 100 review articles, editorials
and book chapters.