digestive disease research institute tehran university of medical sciences
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DIGESTIVE DISEASE RESEARCH INSTITUTETehran University of Medical Sciences
History• 1974
• Establishment of the department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology of Shariati hospital
• 1994• Establishment of the Digestive Disease Research Center (DDRC)
• 2007• WHO collaborating center for research on gastrointestinal cancers
• 2011• Establishment of the Digestive Disease Research Institute (DDRI)
DDRC• Education
• Medical students• Residents• GI fellows
• 6-8 GI fellows each year• >100 gastroenterologists trained
• Endoscopy training for Internists• Advanced courses for gastroenterologists
• EUS• ERCP• DBE
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DDRC• Patient care
• Routine hospital load• OPD clinic
• Research
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Medical Ethics Committee
Head of the Institute Research
Committee
Executive Committee
Education Deputy Research Deputy Executive Deputy
Proposal Committee
GERD Research Group
IBS Research Group
Celiac Research Group
Achalasia Research Group
IBD Research Group
Stem Cells Research Group
Biobank
Adminstration Unit
Gastro-Intestinal and Hepatic Clinic
Computer Unit
Higher Council of Digestive Diseases Research Institute
Research Center on Autoimmune and motility disorders of the Gastro-
Enterolgy tracts
Chronic Diseases Prevention Research Group
Finance Management Unit
Digital Library
Nutrition Research Group
Pancreatitis Research Group
General and International
Communications Unit
Research Center on digestive and hepatic
cancers
Esophageal and gastric cancers research Group
Colorectal Cancer Research
Group
Hepatic and pancreatitic
Cancers Research Group
Hepatitis C ResearchGroup
Fatty Liver Research Group
Auto-Immune Hepatitis Research
Group
Research Center on Diseases of Liver,
Pancreas, and Biliary Tracts
Hepatitis B Research Group
Research Center on low invasive
surgeries
Colorectal Research Center
CTC Genetic
Epidemiology
Labratory
Proposal Review Committee• Peer-review of proposals considering priorities• Help in improving research proposals• Collaborating with other associations and universities
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Research Council• Final approval of proposals, progress reports, final
reports.• Deciding on budget allocation to various research groups• Approving collaborations, sample transfer, etc.• Major decisions in research subjects
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Collaborating Center for Ethics committee/IRB on Office for
Human Research Protections
(OHRP)
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Collaborations• Many universities and centers in Iran• Collaborating with the 10 best world institutes and
universities• IARC, WHO, NCI/NIH, Cambridge, John Hopkins, Harvard,
Karolinska, Glasco, Leeds, CRUK
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Collaboration with WHO• IARC is the arm of WHO researching on cancer• So our collaboration with WHO has been mainly through
IARC• We have even managed to secure funding from IARC!• Over 20 high-impact papers each year closely related to
problems in Iran, many of which have the potential to change health policies.
• Many training opportunities for our researchers• Have returned to DDRI and help us here or …• Have moved to other research institutes abroad forming further
opportunities for collaboration
Scopus
GI Cancer Research Center• Gastro-Esophageal Malignancy In Northern Iran (GEMINI)
• Case control study• 300 cases of gastric cancer• 600 controls• In collaboration with NCI/NIH/IARC• Numerous studies published and still being published
• Golestan Cohort Study
Collaborations in GEMINI• GEMINI was probably the one research project which
boosted collaborations of DDRI with the world• We currently have collaborations in GEMINI with 10-20
internationally recognized centers and institutes
How to Make Collaborators Interested
• It is not easy to draw attention of international organizations
• Specially in a country so blackened by the media• Guidelines are needed!
Guidelines for Attracting Collaborators
• Search for something of mutual interest for you and the international community.• Cancers• Cardiovascular mortality and it’s prevention
• Choose a subject in which you have an advantage• High rate of ESCC in north Iran than most of the world• Referral center for Achalasea with over 800 samples• Very good infrastructure for population based rural studies
Guidelines for Attracting Collaborators
• Search the literature to find centers/authors most interested in this subject with most publications
• Identify authors with highest interest and key persons• Contact them
• Emails• In person in meetings/congress/…• Through colleagues working in the same centers/city
• Iranians abroad• Previous collaborators
Start the Collaboration• Invite them to Iran (congress, seminar, meeting, …)
• Their view to Iran will suddenly change• You can discuss the basics of collaboration without distrations• Sometimes a PhD student can be assigned at the same time
• Good proposal• It helps a lot if you can send a sharp PhD student to the
collaborating center to work on the mutual project.• Much better communication• Training opportunity
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The Golestan Cohort Study (GCS)• A cohort of 50,000 subjects, above 40 y/o started on
2005, now 9 Years old. A great deal of data collected including:• Detailed 30-page questionnaire (including FFQ)• Frozen samples of serum, whole blood, nails and hair.• Yearly follow-up of subjects
• The cohort was originally designed to study ESCC, but many other studies are also on-going within this cohort.
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Sub-Cohorts of GCS• Hepatitis B cohort
• Approx. 5,000 subjects• All HBs Ag positives subjects of GCS (3500) and their positive
family members (1500)• Ultrasound and Fibroscan available for those living in Gonbad
(400)
• Hepatitis C cohort• 350 subjects• Ultrasound and Fibroscan available
• NAFLD …
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Sub-Studies of GCS• Re-measurement
• 20-25% of the GCS subjects were revisited after 5 Years and data/samples collected
• PolyIran project• Interventional study• Aims at reducing cardiovascular mortality
• PolyIran-Liver project• Focusing on liver disease
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The PolyIran Study• We observed that during the first 5 Years of GCS, the
mortality from cancer was less than 20% whereas the mortality of CVD was over 50%
• We started a CVD-prevention trial with a combination pill we call “PolyPill”
• We have randomized all re-measurement subjects above 50 (8,500) to receive either polypill or minimal care
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PolyPill• ASA: 81 mg• Atorvastatin: 20 mg• Hydrochlorthiazide: 12.5 mg• Enalapril: 5 mg or Valsartan: 80 mg
Given daily for 5 years
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The PolyIran-Liver Study• 1,500 of the PolyIran subjects live in the city of Gonbad
where better facilities are available.• These subjects undergo some liver work-up too; we call
them the PolyIran-Liver group• Ultrasound• Fibroscan• IMT, visceral fat measurement, MRI
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Future and On-Going Activities• Identifying high risk groups for gastric and esophageal
cancer• Preventive measures• Providing guidelines for early detection
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Ardabil (prevalent gastric cancer)• Ten years ago, we performed1000 endoscopies on
randomly selected volunteer subjects over 45 years of age
• Chromoendoscopy (lugol staining) was carried out on all subjects and suspicious lesions were biopsied
• In addition, biopsies were obtained from 10 predetermined sites in the stomach
• Histology, blood, urine, nail, and hair samples plus an extensive questionnaire is available
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Ardabil (prevalent gastric cancer)• We have identified over 900 of these subjects • 34 cases of cancer have been documented• We will compare initial data of subjects with progressed or
new precancerous lesions with controls• We hope to find markers in their initial data (pathology,
blood, questionnaire, …) which helps us identify high risk subjects
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Gonbad (prevalent esophageal cancer)
• We have already identified a few risk factors during our studies in Gonbad
• In the case control study (GEMINI), we compared 300 cases of esophageal cancer with 600 controls
• In the cohort (GCS), we have followed 50,000 subjects and so far over 50 have developed esophageal cancers
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Gonbad (prevalent esophageal cancer)
• During these studies we have already identified 7 risk factors
• We will use these factors to create a model for prediction of esophageal cancer
• High-risk subjects can then be screened by endoscopy
GE Cancer Screening Project (GESP)
• Finding an efficient screening method for esophageal Ca• Most screening protocols are not really cost-effective• Endoscopy for all is definitely not an option• Evaluating serologic tests, sponge cytology, …
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