Congratulations on the Young Investigator Award for Outstanding Clinical Research for the research team from Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital

Recently, the research team from Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital (BV ĐHYD TPHCM) including Associate Professor Dr. Bùi Hữu Hoàng – Head of Gastroenterology Department, Associate Professor Dr. Nguyễn Thị Băng Sương – Head of Laboratory Department, MSc Dr. Phan Thế Sang and MSc Dr. Nguyễn Đình Chương – Gastroenterology Department, has won the Outstanding Poster Award from “Professor Mindie H. Nguyen Award for Outstanding Clinical Research by Early Career Investigators” (“Professor Minde H. Nguyen Award for Outstanding Clinical Research by Early Career Investigators”) with the research project: “M2BPGi, a new marker to assess liver fibrosis in Vietnamese patients with chronic hepatitis B”.

This is an award sponsored by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases Foundation, presented annually for outstanding clinical research reported at the Society's Annual Liver Conference. 

The award aims to honor the great contributions to the global liver field represented by Professor Mindie H. Nguyen. She is a Vietnamese-born doctor currently teaching at Stanford University, USA, with thousands of research works on hepatitis and liver cancer. The award is presented to doctors and young researchers from Southeast Asia, Africa, and the Western Pacific region to encourage the development of research on liver diseases caused by viruses, fatty liver disease, and liver cancer.

Prof. Dr. Bùi Hữu Hoàng – Head of Gastroenterology Department, Ho Chi Minh City Hospital of Dermatology and Venereology shares that research has shown M2BPGi is a highly reliable test in assessing liver fibrosis and to some extent can replace or supplement imaging diagnostic techniques and liver biopsy. The research team also established cut‑off values for the M2BPGi test in estimating significant liver fibrosis (F ≥2) and cirrhosis (F4) for application to Vietnamese patients with chronic viral hepatitis B. M2BPGi is truly a simple test, delivering results within 17 minutes, making it easy to implement in any medical facility without the need for complex and expensive equipment.

This is the first time that HCMC General Hospital of Gastroenterology (BV ĐHYD TPHCM) has registered to participate in a research report by poster and has been honored to be selected to present at the European Liver Disease Conference. This is a top‑tier global liver specialty conference. The research team nominated Associate Professor Dr. Nguyễn Đình Chương, the youngest doctor of the Gastroenterology Department, to represent and present the poster. For the research team, this is truly a memorable milestone, marking the collective efforts, especially occurring during the difficult period of the recent COVID‑19 pandemic. This achievement will certainly be a great source of motivation for HCMC General Hospital of Gastroenterology to continue to excel and make its mark on the international academic and research arena.

"First of all, this is certainly a rather surprising moment mixed with happiness and honor. Surprising because out of nearly 40,000 studies submitted to this year's conference, the study from Ho Chi Minh City Hospital of Tropical Diseases is among the 140 studies that received an award. That cannot hide the feeling of happiness and pride when being honored at the award ceremony at the International-level Liver Specialty Conference."

However, it should be emphasized that this is an award for young researchers to encourage them on their future scientific research path. Therefore, when placed alongside awards that honor lifelong contributions to the field of hepatology, it is only a beginning. Emotions will also pass, everything will become just a memory. The important thing I want to convey to the members of the group is to always keep the “fire of passion” in research and to contribute to the scientific achievements of Vietnam’s healthcare sector as well as to Ho Chi Minh City Hospital of Tropical Diseases in the future. Our destination is not only the awards, but also to improve professional work, scientific research to better serve the examination and treatment of patients.” - Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bùi Hữu Hoàng, representative of the research group shared.

Overview introduction of the research project: “M2BPGi as a novel marker for liver fibrosis in Vietnamese patients with chronic hepatitis B”, provisional translation “M2BPGi, a new marker for assessing liver fibrosis in Vietnamese patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection”:

Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a global health issue. Vietnam is classified as a high endemic area for HBV with a prevalence of about 8% in the population. Among them, more than 30% of patients have cirrhosis and about 60-80% of liver cancer patients in Vietnam are related to hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Thus, the above data show that chronic HBV is indeed a burden on Vietnam's healthcare.

Assessing the degree of liver fibrosis (LF) is essential in managing and treating chronic hepatitis B patients. Although liver biopsy is considered the gold standard in diagnosing LF, it is an invasive technique that can cause complications. Therefore, the current new trend is to study less invasive methods to evaluate LF such as transient elastography using FibroScan, acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) imaging, or applying new biochemical markers to gradually replace liver biopsy. Hence, the research team has strived to find a simple test with high accuracy and reasonable cost that can be widely implemented in many medical facilities.