Research in biomedical science provides basis for the application of evidence-based medicine. This is how medical science has evolved and continues to develop. Research and studies helps generate new knowledge that unfolds many mysteries of the nature, environment, life sciences, and their interactions to produce disease or no disease. Nepal Cancer Hospital and Research Center (NCHRC) believes that new knowledge on various aspects of cancer generated through research and studies will advance cancer care and prevention in Nepal. In order to promote research and development (R&D), NCHRC provides platform to health professionals from inside and outside the hospital to conduct quality research projects on cancer and other related fields.  NCHRC has its Institutional Review Committee (IRC), that takes care of the ethical issues of the study and the Hospital Research Board (HRB) that provides administrative and technical support for research projects. Researchers are encouraged to share the concept note of the research project from initial stage of project planning in order to minimize the time required for review, correction and clearance from hospital IRC and HRB.

Researchers can be of:                                                                                              

  • Category A: Nepalese citizens,
  • Category B: Non-resident Nepalese (NRN),
  • Category C: Citizens from South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Nations, (Bhutan, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Nepal and Pakistan)
  • Category D: Foreign Nationals other than category A, B and C.

Researchers may want to do:

  • Single hospital/health institution based research projects: Carry out the research project at one health care facility and end the project at the same health care facility,
  • Multicenter based research projects: Collaborative (national/international) research projects to be carried out in two or more health care centers/institutions.

Type of Research:

  1. Studies in the form of survey and simple data collection
  2. Observational: case studies/case series studies, Epidemiological and Ecological studies, Cross-sectional, retrospective/case-control, longitudinal/prospective studies which can be descriptive as well as analytic,
  3. Experimental studies and clinical trials.

Priority Cancers Identified for Research

Health professionals, students from clinical, diagnostic, public health, nursing, and allied fields are encouraged to conduct studies based on priorities as identified below to support cancer care and prevention.

  1. Cancer of uterine cervix
  2. Lung cancers
  3. Breast cancer
  4. Stomach cancer
  5. Liver and gall bladder cancers
  6. Thyroid cancer
  7. Ovarian cancer
  8. Colorectal cancers
  9. Oral/Head & Neck cancer
  10. Hematological cancers

Besides these priority cancers, an investigator might have interest on some other cancer types, or conduct biomedical research on different areas. The hospital is open to discuss on every aspect of research that contribute to science and cancer care. NCHRC also provides opportunity to conduct research projects on health system research, building and architecture, Biomedical Engineering and others.

Using Biological Materials/Specimen for Research                                                                 

In relation to laboratory samples such as tissues, blood and any of the biological materials, HRB strictly follows the policy and recommendations made by Institutional Review Committee (IRC)/ Nepal Health Research Council (NHRC).

Application Process

Research proposals which are already developed should be submitted along with an application to the Chairman, Hospital Research Board. The HRB will request other supporting documents for official purposes. HRB-NCHRC encourages signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and or Research Collaborative Agreement (RCA) with institutions/Principle Investigators for conducting any research project. The RCA details various aspects of the research project including role and responsibilities of the researcher and the host institution. For more details, please contact NCHRC or visit the hospital website.