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H2020Doctoral network2019–2024

CAST · Active Monitoring of Cancer As An Alternative To Surgery

Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Duration
2019-11-01 → 2024-10-31
EU contribution
€4,057,659
Participants
14
Scheme
MSCA-ITN

Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.

Results in brief

Active Monitoring of Cancer As An Alternative To Surgery

What is the problem/issue being addressed: CAST is to implement a paradigm change for a novel approach in deciding if cancer surgery is needed. Therefore, our aim will be to clinically translate innovative new monitoring technologies from the industry. This will provide better patient selection and increase the surveillance window to allow for better treatment options over time and avoid surgery. This will involve developing new ‘watch and wait’ strategies to study the behaviour of the cancer so that any risks can be minimized. This would lead to a better clinical outcome and quality of life (QOL) for the patient and maximize the benefits of an active monitoring policy for both the patient and the healthcare system. Why is it important for society: i) Better understand the importance of watch and wait and to estimate the risks to either perform or not to perform cancer surgery; ii) Address how the implementation of a more patient-tailored approach in cancer treatment may be utilised; iii) Address how the implementation of novel monitoring technologies for the surgeon may be utilised to open-up a risk-free window of opportunity for active surveillance; and iv) Even if surgery is determined to be needed, what are the alternative interventions to preserve the quality of life in patients. What are the overall objectives: i) A consensus for full implementation of watch and wait for different cancers involving shared databases, training facilities and determined best practice for patient management; ii) Beyond state of art technologies, including camera systems, hardware and liquid biopsies, that will allow better prognosis and management of patients; and iii) Improved methods for the localised delivery of immunotherapy or radiotherapy.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

When a patient is discovered to have cancer, one of the primary goals is to have the tumour removed by surgery. Althoughthis provides excellent oncological control, it is associated with morbidity and functional problems in cancer survivors. Recentstudies have shown that the immediacy to perform a resection does not always lead to improved clinical outcome.Furthermore, cancer surgery can often lead to complications where the quality of life for the patient is compromised by toxicside effects and /or damage to nerves, organs or healthy tissues. A number of recent clinical trials in the field of cancersurgery have advocated the concept of watch and wait, watchful waiting, active monitoring or surveillance, which are termsused to describe a monitoring strategy for cancer. The concept may be antithetical but the functional advantage of thesealternatives is clear even though there is some concern about the risk. Though the evidence is still weak, current studiessuggest that with adequate selection and follow-up, this oncological risk is small. A major consideration for clinicians is nowto maintain quality of life for all patients. Our objective in this proposal is to implement novel approaches so that cancersurgery can be avoided, where we aim to (a) develop new monitoring technologies from industry so that the surveillancewindow can be increased to allow for better treatment options over time and to avoid surgery, (b) develop new ‘watch andwait’ strategies in order to study the behaviour of the cancer so that any risks to the patient can be minimised leading to abetter clinical outcome and (c) train a new generation of preclinical and clinical scientists to be able to implement this newconcept as standard of care and to maximise the benefits of an active monitoring policy.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

  • STICHTING HET NEDERLANDS KANKER INSTITUUT-ANTONI VAN LEEUWENHOEK ZIEKENHUIS · AmsterdamCoordinatorNetherlands
  • ACADEMISCH ZIEKENHUIS LEIDEN · LeidenNetherlands
  • EDINBURGH MOLECULAR IMAGING LIMITED · EdinburghUnited Kingdom
  • FUNDACAO D. ANNA DE SOMMER CHAMPALIMAUD E DR. CARLOS MONTEZ CHAMPALIMAUD · LISBOAPortugal
  • KAROLINSKA INSTITUTET · STOCKHOLMSweden
  • MAX-PLANCK-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FORDERUNG DER WISSENSCHAFTEN EV · MUNCHENGermany
  • PERCUROS BV · 's-Gravenhage (Den Haag)Netherlands
  • SIMFO SPEZIELLE IMMUNOLOGIE FORSCHUNG UND ENTWICKLUNG GMBH · BAYREUTHGermany
  • SURGIMAB SAS · MontpellierFrance
  • THE UNIVERSITY OF LIVERPOOL · LIVERPOOLUnited Kingdom
  • THE UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER · ManchesterUnited Kingdom
  • UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI CAMERINO · CamerinoItaly
  • UNIVERSITAETSMEDIZIN GOETTINGEN - GEORG-AUGUST-UNIVERSITAET GOETTINGEN - STIFTUNG OEFFENTLICHEN RECHTS · GoettingenGermany
  • UNIVERSITE DE STRASBOURG · StrasbourgFrance

Links

Data: CORDIS, © European Union