Project description
New epigenetic tests target women’s cancer risks
Cancer is now the leading cause of death in high-income countries, with women’s cancers (such as breast, ovarian, and endometrial) being particularly concerning. To address this rising burden, understanding cancer’s underlying causes, improving early detection, and predicting individual risk are crucial. However, one major challenge is the lack of effective biomarkers that reflect a person’s exposure to cancer-promoting factors. In this context, the ERC-funded EpiPrecise project aims to address this issue by developing advanced epigenetic tests focused on women’s cancers, especially for those with genetic risks like BRCA mutations. Central to this effort is refining a cellular deconvolution algorithm to analyse complex samples, including menstrual blood, thereby expanding its clinical applications and improving cancer prevention strategies.
Objective
Cancer has overtaken cardiovascular disease as the number one cause of mortality in high income countries, cancer incidence is increasing across the globe. Morbidity and mortality from womens cancers, particularly breast, ovarian, and endometrial cancers, follow or exceed these general trends in cancer incidence.
Tackling this growing cancer burden requires a multifactorial approach including understanding the fundamental drivers of cancer development; improving methods for detecting earlier those forms of cancer with the worst prognosis; predicting a persons risk of developing cancer; and identifying appropriate targets for preventing cancer. Indeed, one of the biggest obstacles in identifying tailored cancer prevention strategies is a lack of surrogate readout markers reflecting and integrating an individuals response to the cancer-initiating and cancer-promoting factors that they are exposed to during their lifetime. Our research delivers novel epigenetic tests relating to each of these key areas with an emphasis on womens cancers and those who are at an increase risk for cancer due to their underlying genetics, such as women with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations and women with Lynch Syndrome.
Central to the discovery and development of the epigenetic tests is a cellular deconvolution algorithm that is used to calculate the proportions of cell types within complex, mixed samples such as cervical swabs. In order to broaden the clinical utility of the tests and explore new applications, refinement and expansion of this cellular deconvolution algorithm is now required. The expansion will include cell types in menstrual blood, which is an important and understudied clinical sample type. The EpiPrecise project will deliver this refined and expanded algorithm and apply it to a test case in an area of high unmet clinical need. The refined algorithm will then be applied across the research portfolio and shared.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- social sciences sociology demography mortality
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics mutation
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine oncology
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics epigenetics
You need to log in or register to use this function
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
-
HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC-POC - HORIZON ERC Proof of Concept Grants
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2023-POC
See all projects funded under this callHost institution
Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
6020 Innsbruck
Austria
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.