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About institute

Tomsk Саnсеr Rеsеаrсh Institute

Evgeny L. Choynzonov, MD, PhD, Professor, Full Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Director

Nadezhda V. Cherdyntseva, PhD, Professor, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Deputy Director for Basic Research

Victor E. Goldberg, MD, PhD, Professor, Deputy Director for Clinical Research

Vladimir I. Chernov, MD, PhD, Professor, Deputy Director for Research and Innovation

The history of Tomsk Cancer Research Institute dates back to June 29, 1979 when Siberian branch of the All-Union Cancer Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences was set up. Tomsk Scientific Center was founded in 1986 and Siberian branch of the All-Union Cancer Research Institute was reorganized into an independent institute. Since April, 2002 Professor Evgeny L. Choynzonov, MD, Member of the RAN has been Director of the Tomsk Cancer Research Institute.

Today, we are ranked as the leading academic research Institute and the only Institute of this kind in Siberia and the Russian Far East.

Our mission:

  • Eradication of cancer and the enhancement of the life quality of cancer patients
  • Reducing the cancer incidence, cancer-related morbidity and mortality
  • Advanced professional training
  • Use of leading-edge cancer research and biotechnologies to personalize treatment for each patient

The institute’s staff contains approximately 600 employees including over 100 scientists and 66 clinicians.

Research and clinical scientists at the Institute are making a significant contribution to the prevention, early detection, diagnosis and treatment of cancer. In recent years, they have achieved major advances both in basic research and in the development of novel methods for clinical application. 

Scientists are developing novel approaches to make tumor diagnosis more precise and treatment of cancer patients more successful using high technologies and molecular genetic testing to personalize the treatment of cancer patients.

Basic Sciences Laboratories:

  • Epidemiology
  • Molecular Oncology and Immunology
  • Viral Oncology
  • Tumor Biochemistry
  • Cancer Progression Biology

The clinic of our Institute provides multidisciplinary care and high-tech cancer treatment for patients living in Siberia and Russian Far East. It is a 280 bedded hospital with state of the art facilities for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Annually, 3.5 thousand patients receive cutting-edge therapies and image-guided interventions.

Clinical Departments:

  • Anesthesiology and Intensive Care
  • Chemotherapy
  • Diagnostic Imaging
  • Radiation oncology
  • Nuclear Medicine
  • Endoscopy
  • Outpatient Diagnostic Center
  • Hospital-Based Cancer Registry
  • Pharmacy

Surgical oncology:

  • Head & Neck Cancer Unit
  • Breast Cancer Unit
  • Bone and Soft Tissue Cancer Unit
  • Urologic Cancer Unit
  • Thoracic Cancer Unit
  • Gastrointestinal Cancer Unit
  • Gynecological Cancer Unit
  • Major fundamental research interests are:

  • To study cancer incidence, cancer-based morbidity and mortality in different ethnic populations in Siberia and the Russian Far East (26 mln. population)
  • To reveal endogenous and exogenous etiological factors and their complexes to improve organization of cancer prevention and care
  • To discover cellular and molecular mechanisms of tumor-microenvironment crosstalk to determine their role in clinical behavior and establish new molecular diagnostics and novel molecular therapeutic targets in cancer.
  • To study molecular mechanisms of cancer metastasis based on Lyden’s metaststic niche concept and Paget “seed and soil” hypothesis as a platform for metastatic disease prediction and prevention.
  • To develop molecular diagnostic assays for routine clinical use in oncology practice.
  • To characterize mechanisms of resistance to therapies by integrating molecular profiling and functional genomics.
  • To promote rapid translation of basic discoveries of cancer mechanisms into the development of potential prognostic markers and therapeutic strategies.
  • To develop the most effective, safe, and cost-effective approaches for predictive, preventive and personalized cancer therapy. Our goal is to transform cancer therapy by using advanced technological tools to predict whether a patient will respond to a specific treatment, and to match each patient with the best drug for a particular tumor.
  • Achievements:

    Intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT), a new treatment modality, is performed immediately in the operating room using a small-size 6.3 MeV betatron. No patient transportation to the radiological department is required. Advantages:

    • Maximum effect. IORT delivers a concentrated dose of radiation to a tumor site immediately after a tumor is removed, helping to destroy the microscopic tumor cells that may be left behind.
    • Spares healthy tissues and organs. During IORT, a precise radiation dose is applied while shielding healthy tissues or structures, such as the skin, that could be damaged using other techniques. This allows a higher radiation dose to be delivered to the tumor bed, while sparing normal surrounding tissues. Critical organs within the radiation field, such as the lungs or heart, can also be protected.
    • Shortened treatment times. IORT may help some patients finish treatment and get back to their lives quicker by reducing the need for additional radiation therapy, which is typically given over five to six weeks. The IORT treatment itself takes about four to five minutes.
    • A "boost" for traditional radiation patients. Patients who must receive additional radiation therapy following surgery can receive a boost of radiation during IORT. After they have recovered from the surgical procedure, they can continue with their radiation treatments, with typically fewer complications.
    • No patient transportation to the radiological department is required.
    • We have the largest clinical experience in Russia in treating patients using IORT.
    • We have an extensive clinical experience in using neutron therapy for treatment of patients with malignant tumors resistant to photon therapy. The appropriate selection of the fractionation regimen for preoperative neutron therapy in the treatment of cancer patients permits radical surgery to be performed avoiding long-term damage to normal tissues, thus reducing the incidence of local recurrences and increasing relapse-free survival time.

    Organ-preserving and plastic reconstructive surgeries use the cutting-edge medical equipment, endoprostheses from the porous titanium nickelid and microsurgical autografting . Advances: increased treatment efficacy, shortened rehabilitation period and improved life quality of patients.

    Voice restoration technique with the use of mathematical model-based biological feedback for improving life quality of laryngectomized cancer patients.

    Molecular genetic testing for: 1) detection of hereditary and somatic mutations to indentify an appropriate targeted therapy, 2) detection of hereditary family cancer mutations to provide the early diagnostics and adequate therapy, 3) detection of chromosomal aberration in tumor DNA and elaboration of novel markers and targets to personalize chemotherapy.

    About personalized therapy

    No two cancers are alike, just as no two people are alike. Our goal is to transform cancer therapy by using advanced technological tools to predict who will respond to a specific treatment, and to match each patient with the best drug for a particular tumor.

    Recent technological advances have made it possible to generate a profile of the abnormalities in the genetic code of a tumor. By gathering enough data, we can identify profiles that will allow us to begin to tailor cancer treatments to individual patients.

    Family Cancer Genetics Program

    We provide patients with the latest information about inherited cancer risks, available genetic testing, and options for individuals known to be at a high risk of developing cancer due to genetic predisposition.

    Siberian Journal of Oncology

    The Journal was founded in 2002. The Cancer Research Institute is a founder of Siberian journal of oncology. Published twice monthly, it has an impact factor of 0.4 in Russian Science Citation Index. All articles are freely available online. The Siberian Journal of Oncology is a peer-reviewed and multidisciplinary journal that publishes original articles in the field of clinical and experimental oncology. The journal covers the following areas of interest: carcinogenesis, molecular biology, pathology, epidemiology, prevention, diagnostic techniques, surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, anesthesiology, rehabilitation and experimental studies.

    Education
    The Institute provides high quality educational activity and training in oncology for:

    • students of Siberian State Medical University (Department of Oncology)
    • students of National Research Tomsk State University
    • postgraduate students in specialty of oncology, diagnostic imaging and radiation therapy resident physicians in specialty of oncology and radiology
    • medical interns

    There is a Coordinating Council of Young Scientists in the Institute, which represents a community of postdoctoral research fellows, who carry out high quality research and are usually involved in research projects. They arrange various scientific activities and participate in regional, national and international scientific conferences and workshops.

    The Institute has a Dissertation Board for obtaining Doctor of Science (DSc) degree and PhD degree in oncology.

    The Institute provides the perfect environment for developing and nurturing a scientific career.

    Collaboration

    Aim: to promote collaboration between scientists, healthcare professionals, business, industry and governmental bodies.

    The Institute cooperates with various medical and technical organizations and actively participates in cooperated Russian and International researches on the efficacy of anti-tumor drugs and in programs of joined researches. The Institute continuously organizes various scientific conferences, seminars, meetings and workshops.

    Our partners:

    • Tomsk State University (Tomsk, Russia)
    • National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University (Tomsk, Russia)
    • Research Institute of High Tensions, Tomsk Polytechnic University (Tomsk, Russia)
    • The Siberian State Medical University (Tomsk, Russia)
    • Institute of High-Current Electronics, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Tomsk, Russia)
    • Tomsk State University of Control Systems and Radio Electronics (Tomsk, Russia)
    • Research Institute of Medical Genetics, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences (Tomsk, Russia)
    • Research Institute for Cardiology (Tomsk, Russia)
    • Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Novosibirsk, Russia)
    • Therapy Research Institute, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Novosibirsk, Russia)
    • M.M.Shemyakin and Yu.A.Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Moscow, Russia)
    • N.N. Blokhin Russian Cancer Research Center of Russian Academy of Sciences, (Moscow, Russia)
    • P.A. Gertsen Moscow Research Institute of Oncology (Moscow, Russia)
    • Koltzov Institute of Developmental Biology(Moscow, Russia)
    • V.A. Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology of the RAS, Moscow
    • N.N. Petrov Research Institute of Oncology (St-Petersburg, Russia)
    • North Kazakhstan State University named after M. Kozybaev (Kazakhstan)
    • European Society of Gynecological Oncology (ESGO)
    • European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) (Brussels, Netherlands)
    • Cureline East Research LLC (San Francisco CA, USA)
    • Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University (Japan)
    • Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center (Guanchzhou, China)
    • Memorial Hospital Chung-Kan Tsao (Taiwan)
    • Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences (Cotchi, India)
    • Heidelberg University (Germany)
    • University of Zurich (Switzerland)
    • Ecole Polytechnique (Palaiseau, France)
    • Montpellier Cell Biology Research Center (Montpellier, France)
    • Centre for BioSystems Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Science (Bangalore, India)

    Publications and patents
    There have been published 139 monographs, 1907 articles, 68 collected articles and 55 guidelines, 360 copyright certificates and patents for inventions, 5 certificates of registration of license agreements with industrial partners.

    Our researches are funded by the Russian Fund of Basic Research, the Russian Federation President Grant, Federal Target program “Development of The Pharmaceutical and Medical Technology Industry of The Russian Federation for the period till 2020 and beyond" of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, Federal Target Program “ Research and development in priority directions of scientific –technological complex of Russia”, Federal Target Program “Research and scientific-educational personnel of innovative Russia”, Russian Science Foundation.

    Contact details:
    5, Kooperativny Street
    634009-Tomsk
    Russia
    e/mail: nii@oncology.tomsk.ru
    Phone: +7 3822 511039
    Fax: +7 3822 514097