Jennifer Yeo’s initiatives in Singapore and Hong Kong focus on improving treatment outcomes for pediatric cancer patients.
Jennifer Yeo, the wife of former Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo, is leading charitable efforts in Singapore and Hong Kong to enhance the survival rates of children battling cancer in these regions and mainland China.
“We aspire to treat leukaemia as easily as the common cold, so that no child has to die from it. That is our vision,” Jennifer Yeo stated in an interview with The Independent Singapore. She chairs both the Singapore-based VIVA Foundation for Children with Cancer (VIVA Singapore) and the Hong Kong-registered VIVA China Children’s Cancer Foundation Limited (VIVA China).
Jennifer Yeo emphasized the vital role of these two foundations, stating, “VIVA in Singapore and VIVA in Hong Kong serve as the two pillars connecting China with Southeast Asia.” In 2019, VIVA Singapore and VIVA China partnered with the National University of Singapore (NUS), the National University Health System (NUHS), Kandang Kerbau Hospital, and the Shanghai Children’s Medical Center to collaborate on childhood cancer research.
“The knowledge acquired by doctors in China and Hong Kong can significantly benefit children with cancer in Singapore,” Yeo explained. With only 200 to 300 new childhood cancer diagnoses annually in Singapore, due to its small population, she noted that studying a sample of 15,000 patients could take up to 70 to 75 years.
“However, with our study group in China involving 15,000 children, we’ve achieved significant milestones in our research within just a decade. This accelerates advancements in treatment, survival rates, and ultimately the cure for children with cancer. This is especially important in countries where families typically have fewer children,” she added.
VIVA’s goal is to include 15,000 children in its China study group by the end of 2024, with more than 12,000 already enrolled.
VIVA China aims to enhance the cure rate for children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL), the most prevalent childhood cancer. One of its initiatives, the China Children’s Cancer Group-Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (CCCG-ALL), is the largest study group globally, having published 14 papers in international journals to advance ALL treatment.
Professor Li Chi Kong from the Chinese University of Hong Kong stated, “We hope to achieve an overall survival rate of up to 95 percent for childhood ALL in Hong Kong and mainland China, with disease-free survival (without relapse or complications) reaching 90 percent by 2025.”
Currently, the five-year survival rate for children with leukaemia in hospitals in mainland China under VIVA China’s programme is reported at 90.6 percent. “The key to improving cure rates lies in research that combines medical treatment with thorough data collection and analysis,” Yeo noted.
Professor Li highlighted the importance of clinical research in improving treatment outcomes for pediatric cancer patients. He stressed that good quality data is essential for successful research and that VIVA China is funding the hiring of data managers across various centers to ensure timely data collection and submission to the central data center.
Jennifer Yeo founded VIVA Singapore in 2006 as a gesture of gratitude for her son Frederick’s recovery from leukaemia, as detailed in George Yeo’s book, Musings Series Two.
Toh Han Shih serves as chief analyst at Headland Intelligence, a risk consulting company based in Hong Kong.
