National Cancer Center, Signs Cancer Control MOU with Mongolia\'s National Cancer Center

Expanding cooperation in national cancer control, clinical research, and expert exchange

Korea's National Cancer Center (NCC) announced that on the 9th it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the National Cancer Center of Mongolia (President Tseleejav Batbold) to strengthen comprehensive cooperation across national cancer control programs — spanning cancer registration, prevention, and screening — as well as clinical research and exchange of specialized personnel.

The two institutions have built more than 20 years of partnership, beginning with the founding of the Asian National Cancer Centers Alliance in 2005, followed by an exchange of letters in 2012, the dispatch of cancer registry experts in 2013 and 2015, and the education of Mongolian students through the NCC Graduate School of Cancer Science and Policy.

Notably, last week former Mongolian Minister of Health J. Chinburen and eight medical staff from the National Cancer Center of Mongolia attended the "East Meets West (EMW) International Cancer Symposium" hosted by the NCC. There, the two sides held academic exchanges on national cancer control policy and gastrointestinal cancers including gastric, liver, and colorectal cancer, reviewing each country's policies and clinical status in detail — a process that served as practical groundwork for this MOU.

The signing ceremony was held in conjunction with the renewed signing of the healthcare cooperation MOU between the Korean and Mongolian Ministries of Health. This establishes a framework in which government-level and institution-level cooperation advance in parallel, further reinforcing the foundation for collaboration in cancer control.

The agreement identifies four principal areas of cooperation:

- Cancer research collaboration, including cancer registration, prevention, screening, and clinical research

- Mutual exchange of faculty, researchers, students, and administrators

- Joint academic conferences

- Exchange of academic information

At the "Korea-Mongolia Cancer Control Seminar" that followed, NCC President Yang Han-kwang presented Korea's national cancer control achievements and current status along with proposals for bilateral cooperation. Khishigdorj, Vice President of the National Cancer Center of Mongolia, then presented approaches to strengthening partnerships for successful cancer control. Kim Yeol, Director of the NCC's Office of International Affairs, introduced Korea's national cancer screening and smoking cessation policies, while Dr. Yerbolat of the Mongolian center presented the status of robotic surgery at his institution. Separately from the seminar, President Yang also delivered a special lecture on robotic surgery, providing an opportunity for surgical teams from both institutions to share clinical experience.

"Building on cooperation between the Korean and Mongolian Ministries of Health, this will be an occasion for our two national cancer centers to work as closely as a single team, in addition to the cooperation we have accumulated to date," said NCC President Yang Han-kwang. "Drawing on Korea's national cancer control experience, we will continue exchanges across cancer registration, screening, treatment, and clinical research, and actively support the strengthening of Mongolia's cancer control capacity."

President Tseleejav Batbold of the National Cancer Center of Mongolia said, "Our two national cancer centers are already old friends. This agreement is a meaningful starting point at which cooperation between our governments and between our cancer centers moves forward together." He added, "We hope to benefit from Korea's advanced cancer control experience and to expand medical staff exchange and joint research, contributing to improved cancer diagnosis and treatment in Mongolia and to the health of our people."