Competence Network Personalized Oncology
German Cancer Aid and the state of Baden-Württemberg support network for innovative healthcare of the future
The Centers of Excellence in Oncology (CCC) and Centers for Personalized Medicine (ZPM) at the University Hospitals of Freiburg, Heidelberg, Tübingen and Ulm have joined forces to form a "Competence Network for Personalized Oncology Baden-Württemberg" and have jointly acquired funding from German Cancer Aid and the state of Baden-Württemberg. By pooling the expertise at the four top centers and ZPM, a network for innovative study activities is being set up, which should sustainably improve the range of diagnostics and treatment for patients with advanced cancer. Supported by third-party funding, the ZPM network is establishing care structures for personalized medicine in order to make the latest diagnostic and therapeutic options available to as many patients as possible.
In recent years, the four university hospitals in Baden-Württemberg have set up interdisciplinary ZPMs and integrated them into the hospital and CCC structures in order to transfer the latest molecular diagnostic methods and individualized therapies into care and jointly set new standards in personalized medicine. The four ZPMs have agreed on common standards and quality features for molecular tumor boards (MTBs), which represent a central element of patient care at the centers. In addition, molecular and clinical data are collected in the ZPM network in order to accelerate the acquisition of knowledge on the efficacy of new drugs. The initial aim of the ZPM is to improve the diagnosis and treatment of patients with advanced cancer through customized therapy decisions. The next step is to extend personalized medicine to other disease areas, such as diseases of the immune system.
As part of projects funded by German Cancer Aid and the state of Baden-Württemberg, the four CCCs and ZPM are forming a "Personalized Oncology Competence Network" and will establish a networked study structure over the next three years. A broad range of studies and new study formats should give as many patients as possible access to clinical studies and new drugs. "Adapting the treatment strategy to the molecular characteristics of the respective tumor offers additional options, especially for patients who have exhausted the possibilities of standard therapy. The more closely we share our experiences and compare which therapies have proven successful for which tumors, the more precisely we can treat our patients," emphasize Prof. Dr. Justus Duyster, Medical Director of the Department of Medicine I (Specialties: Hematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation), and Prof. Dr. Robert Thimme, Medical Director of the Department of Medicine I (Specialties: Hematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation). Dr. Robert Thimme, Medical Director of Internal Medicine II (focus: Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Endocrinology and Infectiology) at the Medical Center - University of Freiburg, who head the Freiburg Center for Personalized Medicine.
In order to make the services of personalized cancer medicine available nationwide, the ZPM will network with large hospitals in the region that have a high level of expertise in the care of cancer patients by 2022. While molecular diagnostics and the MTBs' advisory services will be offered at the ZPMs, personalized treatment will be implemented as close to home as possible.
These new structures should enable individual patients to receive care in line with personalized medicine and pave the way for a national initiative for personalized medicine, which will be significantly shaped by the ZPM Baden-Württemberg.
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Justus Duyster
Medical Director
Department of Medicine I - Hematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation
Medical Center - University of Freiburg
Phone: 0761 270-34060
justus.duyster@uniklinik-freiburg.de
Prof. Dr. Robert Thimme
Medical Director
Department of Medicine II - Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Endocrinology and Infectiology
Medical Center - University of Freiburg
Phone: 0761 270-34030
robert.thimme@uniklinik-freiburg.de
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