NCCS clinician leader awarded distinguished professorship in geriatric oncology

Associate Professor Ravindran Kanesvaran was awarded the Distinguished Professorship in Geriatric Oncology by the SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre (AMC) in December 2023. The conferment is an endorsement of Assoc Prof Kanesvaran’s outstanding achievements and commitment to fostering collaborations, education and mentorship, which will transform care, training and research for geriatric oncology in SingHealth and beyond. 

 

Chairman and Senior Consultant in the Division of Medical Oncology at the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS), Assoc Prof Kanesvaran is a highly respected clinician and an internationally recognised key opinion leader in the fields of geriatric oncology and genitourinary oncology. 

Geriatric oncology helps improve care for older cancer patients, Assoc Prof Kanesvaran highlighted, “While cancer is a disease of ageing, older cancer patients may not have access to certain treatments due to their age. For example, clinical trials have an underrepresentation of older adults above 70 years old. Geriatric oncology helps to create awareness of this issue and other challenges that older cancer patients may face, so that we can address them and advocate for improved access to more treatment options.”

Assoc Prof Kanesvaran champions holistic oncology care for elderly patients and leads the first geriatric oncology clinical and research service in South-East Asia at NCCS. Run by a multidisciplinary team, it delivers personalised, integrated treatment to elderly cancer patients to better meet their complex care needs. As a researcher he is prolific and has published more than 220 peer reviewed publications and book chapters. He is a passionate educator and mentor who has developed curriculum for post-graduate courses in geriatric oncology and genitourinary cancers. 

Internationally, Assoc Prof Kanesvaran was the first Asian to be elected President of the International Society of Geriatric Oncology (SIOG) from 2020 to 2022, driving geriatric oncology initiatives in education, research and public policy across the globe and served as Board Member. He was also past Council member of the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) and was the first Asian to be awarded the Fellow of ESMO (FESMO) Award in 2023. At the national level, Assoc Prof Kanesvaran serves as co-chair of the Ministry of Health’s Drugs Advisory Committee (Oncology Drug Sub-Committee) and is Vice-Chairman of the Singapore Cancer Society. 

Established under the SingHealth Duke-NUS Oncology Academic Clinical Programme (ONCO ACP), with a generous gift of $2.5 million from Mr Kuok Khoon Hong, chairman and CEO of Wilmar International, the Distinguished Professorship in Geriatric Oncology will drive transformative geriatric oncology research and educational programmes that will optimise treatment for older adults with cancer.