I4PCM unites several EU cancer care centres in an effort to improve the way they share data. The goal is to empower personalised cancer care by creating a “virtual European Cancer Institute” – a central database with information about clinical research and patient responses to new immunotherapies.

Origins

Immunotherapy is a revolutionary approach to cancer treatment, but clinicians still don’t understand why some patients respond and others do not. Six European comprehensive cancer centers united their translational research activities to address this challenge. The centres have created Cancer Core Europe, an association that will continue the work of the I4PCM, and can add members, even after the end of EIT Health funding.

Team

Gustave Roussy Cancer Campus Grand Paris, Cambridge Cancer Centre, Karolinska Institutet, Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI), Val d’Hebron Institute of Oncology, SAP (data management), Roche/Genetech and Astra Zeneca (clinical trials).

The project

Six EU cancer care centres hoping to improve personalised cancer care united to improve data sharing by creating a “virtual European Cancer Institute” to explore care and clinical research, and to identify patient responses to immunotherapy through biology, genomics, and imaging.

Partners monitored the data sharing based on two projects:

1. A common database on somatic mutation of the BRCA1/2 genes. This mutation occurs in a rare number of cases but there is a need for pertinent clinical data, data on treatment and follow up, as well as complete genetic exploration of associated defects.
2. Creation of a common molecular/medical tumour board, serving all centres. This board was established to decide the best treatment to propose for a patient, based on clinical history and the common genetic platform results. This board was set up in the framework of a big clinical project, which was made possible by collaboration with Roche/Genetech.

Cancer Core Europe is a legal association, which continues after the end of EIT support, developing on the results of I4PCM project and using it as the data sharing backbone for our clinical trial platform.

Impact

Improvements in cancer care supported by the project can have a massive impact on individuals and society by reducing the number of people with cancer and decreasing deaths from cancer. Further benefits include:

Establishing Cancer Core Europe as a leading network to improve cancer care and erase obstacles for data generation and sharing.
Developing long term collaborations with Pharma companies via a permanent and adaptable clinical trial system.

Why this is an EIT Health project

EIT Health is proud to have supported a consortium that unites researchers for the improvement of healthcare and that continues after EIT Health support. This project aligns with the EIT Health Focus Areas of:

• “Care Pathways”, by seeking to improve personalised care.
• “Healthcare Transformation”, by enabling improvements in healthcare management.
• “Real-World Data”, by using data to improve healthcare.