Science and Technology Innovation Prize Winner 

A research group of the Pyongyang Maternity Hospital established an advanced method of diagnosing a gynecologic disease at its early stage.

The gynecologic disease, termed hydatidiform mole, refers to an abnormal pregnancy in uterus.

The problem is that most patients with hydatidiform moles are complicated by choriocarcinoma. In this case, they had to receive hysterectomy or medication treatment to prevent the development of cancer and its metastasis, but neither of these two methods was a reasonable option to improve survival rate.

Having set a goal to put the early diagnosis and treatment of choriocarcinoma on a scientific basis by relying on their own efforts and technology, Candidate Academician, Professor and PhD Kim Pok Sun, Kim Song Il and Ro Jong Sim have conducted research work to this end for decades. They decided to make a tumor marker, which can be called the core of early diagnosis of cancer, and repeated experiments and analyses scores of times.

Although their research work was prolonged and they encountered many difficulties, they persevered and finally developed a tumor marker that reached the advanced level in various technical indices. They also established the method of treating cancer stage by stage according to the use of anticancer drugs, as well as the post-treatment management method in conformity with the constitutional characteristics of women.

These methods have been introduced into clinical practice, bringing many women back to normal health.

The method of managing trophoblastic disease, which is a method of diagnosing and treating the gynecologic disease at its early stage, won the scientific and technological innovation prize at the ceremony of awarding the February 16 Science and Technology Prize held this year.