Vinmec Health System attracts international patients to Vietnam for treatment

Significantly extended survival and improved quality of life (QoL) for cancer patients achieved through autologous cell-based AIET immunotherapy, utilizing patients' own natural killer (NK) cells and T cells, has positioned Vinmec Hospital, Vietnam, as an emerging medical tourism destination for cancer treatment across Asian countries. This accomplishment was presented by Professor Nguyen Thanh Liem at the NCRM NICHE 2025. He acknowledged the technology transfer support from GN Corporation, Japan, enabling the implementation of standardized AIET protocols in accordance with Japanese regulations, bringing treatment access to patients at Vinmec since 2018.

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Professor Nguyen Thanh Liem, Director, Institute of Stem Cell and Genetic Technology Research at Vinmec International Hospital, Hanoi, Vietnam and his team have successfully implemented the technology transfer of Autologous Immune Enhancement Therapy (AIET) from Japan and demonstrated its safety and efficacy as an adjuvant in combination with standard of care in various cancers. Prof. Liem, a renowned pediatric surgeon and pioneer in regenerative medicine, has received numerous prestigious honors, including the 2018 Nikkei Asia Prize for Science & Technology, the Ho Chi Minh Prize, the Hero of Labor Medal, and the Vietnamese Talent Award. In 2025, he was named among the world's most influential scientists by a Stanford University, USA research group. Driven by a passion to improve cancer patients’ quality of life, Prof. Liem successfully brought AIET to Vietnam in 2018 transferred by GN Corporation, Japan, technically supported by Nichi-In Centre for Regenerative Medicine (NCRM)

AIET leverages patients’ NK and T lymphocytes alongside conventional treatments, increases treatment efficacy by 20–30% and significantly improves survival. In two clinical trials at Vinmec Hospital during 2016–2021 in advanced-stage cancers:

• Colorectal cancer patients’ average survival time increased by 14.3 months;
• Lung, liver and other cancers, average survival time increased by 18.7 months.

Among over 100 patients, including those with late-stage breast, ovarian, thyroid, and head-neck cancers, AIET improved survival rates, enhanced QoL with measurable improvements in: appetite, insomnia, drowsiness, dry mouth, nausea, depression, fatigue, overall symptom burden and physical function capacity. AIET causes virtually no side effects, as it uses patients' own cells without any foreign biological materials or feeder layers during cultivation.

AIET cell therapy has been officially approved for implementation at Vinmec Hospital under Vietnam’s regenerative medicine regulations, aligned with Japan’s Act on the Safety of Regenerative Medicine.

AIET treatment protocol (one cycle):

• Collection of 100 ml of patient’s peripheral blood,
• Laboratory processing and cultivation over 15–21 days,
• Intravenous infusion of two doses of NK and T cells;

Patients may require 2–6 cycles, depending on cancer progression and stage, said Prof. Liem.

Prof. Liem acknowledged GN Corporation's outstanding interdisciplinary research, yielding cell therapy solutions, being transferred to hospitals and institutes worldwide.

• BEES-HAUS and BHES-HAUS for male urethral stricture using buccal mucosal epithelium, encapsulated in Festigel scaffold;
• Novel cell therapies for treating epithelial and endothelial corneal diseases;
• EELS-TALC addressing articular cartilage damage using autologous chondrocytes, with reversed cellular aging.

GN Corporation and NCRM are now collaborating with SoulSynergy Ltd., Mauritius, an approved cell processing lab, to offer cell-based therapies practiced in Japan, to patients in Mauritius and African continent.

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Autologous immunotherapy AIET, using patient’s own NK cells and T cells extends survival duration in cancer patients treated at Vinmec Hospital, Vietnam, tech-transferred by GN Corporation, Japan, with NCRM support; now implemented in Mauritius as well