Bridge of Health took the first step in Armenian’s history to establish a practical cancer registry in January of 2019. By March 2019, the research team began building the organizational features of the registry. The research team comprises Principal Investigator Gevorg Tamamyan, MD, MSc, PhD, and Co-investigators Lusine Hakobyan, MD, Ruzanna Papyan, MD and Manush Avagyan, MD.
The team’s first task was to secure approval from Armenia’s Institutional Review Board (IRB). After all requested documents were submitted, the IRB of the Yerevan State Medical University granted approval in April of 2019.
The team was eager to start the data collection process, however, Dr. Tamamyan emphasized the importance of receiving the support of the medical community prior to data collection efforts. As such, the team met with the leadership of the main hospitals, Hematology Center, National Oncology Center and Muratsan Hospital Complex of YSMU, as well as with the Ministry of Health. These institutions serve as the main locations for pediatric cancer patients receiving treatment for the past three decades. Meetings were fruitful and positive, which led to immense support with the next steps of the project.
In May 2019, Bridge of Health’s hospital-based cancer registry data collection took off. As data collection is now well underway, the team has been meeting regularly to evaluate conducted work and discuss future steps.
The data collection system is integrated from the St. Jude Global Childhood Cancer Analytics Resource and Epidemiological Surveillance System (SJCARES) Registry and its respective literature. Our team is in communication with St. Jude Children’s Hospital regarding the use of their tool for our data collection purposes.
As of May 2019, the main data collection began at the Muratsan Hospital
Complex of Yerevan State Medical University and Hematology Center after Prof. R.H.
Yeolyan. In addition to inputting variables in formation, a repository for the medical histories was created.
Bridge of Health is providing the full funding for this research team and their efforts in completing Armenia's first hospital-based pediatric cancer registry. As of July 2019, expenses include procuring two laptops and infrastructure costs for the four research team members.
Stay tuned for our next update coming to you shortly!