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Review
. 2019 Mar;13(3):521-527.
doi: 10.1002/1878-0261.12447. Epub 2019 Feb 2.

Cancer Core Europe: A translational research infrastructure for a European mission on cancer

Alexander M M Eggermont  1 , Giovanni Apolone  2 , Michael Baumann  3 , Carlos Caldas  4 , Julio E Celis  5 , Francesco de Lorenzo  6   7 , Ingemar Ernberg  8 , Ulrik Ringborg  8 , John Rowell  1 , Josep Tabernero  9 , Emile Voest  10 , Fabien Calvo  11
Affiliations
Review

Cancer Core Europe: A translational research infrastructure for a European mission on cancer

Alexander M M Eggermont et al. Mol Oncol. 2019 Mar.

Abstract

Cancer Core Europe is a European legal alliance consisting of seven leading cancer centres - most of them Comprehensive Cancer Centres (CCCs) - with a single portal system to engage in various research projects with partners. Cancer Core Europe was established to create a sustainable, high-level, shared research infrastructure platform hosting research collaborations and task forces (data sharing, clinical trials, genomics, immunotherapy, imaging, education and training, and legal and ethical issues), with a controlled expansion agenda. Translational cancer research covers the cancer research continuum from basic to preclinical to early clinical, late clinical, and outcomes research. Basic-preclinical research serves as the 'engine' for early clinical research by bridging the early translational research gap and is the primary and current focus of the consortium as exemplified by the launching of the Basket of Baskets trial, Europe's largest precision cancer medicine trial. Inspired by the creation of Cancer Core Europe, the prevention community established Cancer Prevention Europe, a consortium of ten cancer prevention centres aimed at supporting the complete prevention research continuum. Presently, Cancer Core Europe and Cancer Prevention Europe are integrating therapeutics and prevention strategies to address in partnership the widening cancer problem. By providing innovative approaches for cancer research, links to healthcare systems, development of quality-assured multidisciplinary cancer care, and assessment of long-term outcomes, the virtual infrastructure will serve as a hub to connect and interact with other centres across Europe and beyond. Together, Cancer Core Europe and Cancer Prevention Europe are prepared to function as a central engine to tackle, in collaboration with various partners, a potential 'mission on cancer' addressing the cancer burden.

Keywords: alliance; cancer research; infrastructure; innovation; oncopolicy.

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Conflict of interest statement

In the past 5 years, Dr. Baumann attended an advisory board meeting of MERCK KGaA (Darmstadt), for which the University of Dresden received a travel grant. He further received funding for his research projects and for educational grants to the University of Dresden by Teutopharma GmbH (2011‐2015), IBA (2016), Bayer AG (2016‐2018), Merck KGaA (2016‐2030), Medipan GmbH (2014‐2018).

Dr. Baumann, as former chair of OncoRay (Dresden) and present CEO and Scientific Chair of the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ, Heidelberg), signed/s contracts for his institute(s) and for the staff for research funding and collaborations with a multitude of companies worldwide.

For the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ, Heidelberg) Dr. Baumann is on the supervisory boards of HI‐STEM gGmbH (Heidelberg).

For the present study, Dr. Baumann confirms that none of the above mentioned funding sources were involved in the study design or materials used, nor in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data nor in the writing of the paper.

Alexander M. M. Eggermont declares Honoraria over the last 5 years for any speaker, consultancy or advisory role from: Actelion, Agenus, Bayer, BMS, CellDex, Ellipses, Gilead, GSK, HalioDX, Incyte, IO Biotech, ISA pharmaceuticals, MedImmune, Merck GmbH, MSD, Nektar, Novartis, Pfizer, Polynoma, Regeneron, RiverDx, Sanofi, Sellas, SkylineDx

For the present study, Dr. Eggermont confirms that none of the above mentioned funding sources were involved in the study design or materials used, nor in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data nor in the writing of the paper.

AMME, UR, and FC : Wrote first draft. Draft was sent out to all co‐authors and received comments from all co‐authors leading to final draft, that was approved by all co‐authors.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The Basket of Baskets Clinical Trial process. (A) iPROFILER: a 2‐tier process of increasing resolution to identify potential candidate and determine their molecular signature. (B) iBASKET: the array of modules in the trial process, each of which focuses on a different pathway. Within each module, there are several arms that target specific components of the modules pathway. (C) The outcomes of BOB.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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    1. Eggermont AM, Caldas C, Ringborg U, Medema R, Tabernero J, Wiestler O (2014) Cancer Core Europe: a consortium to address the cancer care‐cancer research continuum challenge. Eur J Cancer 50, 2745–2746. - PubMed

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