JCSPHPC Scholars Win Prestigious Awards at WONCA Asia Pacific Regional Conference 2025

Two distinguished scholars from the JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) have been honored for their outstanding performance in the oral presentation at the WONCA Asia Pacific Regional Conference 2025 in Busan, Korea.

Professor of JCSPHPC, Prof. Martin Chi-sang Wong, received the Outstanding Research Award for his oral presentation titled "Performance of Screening Tests for Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis".

Assistant Professor of JCSPHPC, Prof. Jason Junjie Huang, was awarded the Promising Research Award for his oral presentation, "Revisiting the Starting Age of Colorectal Cancer Screening for Average-Risk Asian Population: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis".  

Prof. Martin Wong’s study analyzed the diagnostic accuracy of different screening methods for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), a type of esophageal cancer that affects the lining of the esophagus.

In collaboration with Melbourne University, the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (CAMS) and the Peking Union Medical College (PUMC), the study pooled data from 32,209 subjects across 161 studies (81 research articles) and analysed them with a bivariate random-effects model.

The research highlights that endoscopic techniques (peroral and transnasal) and cytology offer comparable diagnostic accuracy, while emerging technologies such as autoantibodies and microRNAs show promise as non-invasive screening tools for ESCC. The findings have been published in Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.

Prof. Jason Huang’s study, funded by Hong Kong’s Health and Medical Research Fund (HMRF), used a simulation of 100,000 individuals to evaluate colorectal cancer (CRC) screening initiation at ages 40, 45, and 50. The findings suggest that beginning screening with fecal immunochemical testing (FIT) at age 45 is cost-effective. It can save more lives compared to starting at age 50, while being more economical than screening at age 40.

The study, conducted in collaboration with Harvard Medical School, Erasmus MC of Erasmus University Rotterdam, and other institutions, is potentially capable of informing the development of Hong Kong’s CRC screening program, particularly in response to the rising incidence of early-onset CRC. The study has been published in Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and Lancet Regional Health.

WONCA stands for the World Organization of Family Doctors. The WONCA Asia Pacific Regional Conference 2025, held from the 24th to the 27th of April 2025, brought together leading experts in family medicine and research across the region. The recognition of Prof. Wong and Prof. Huang underscores JCSPHPC’s growing influence in advancing public health research and policy.