Project description
Enhanced cancer monitoring strategies could reduce surgeries and improve outcomes
Technological advances and an enhanced understanding of disease processes can expand options for less invasive and disruptive treatments. For example, not long ago, a lobotomy was a legitimate alternative treatment for severe mental illness that was resistive to other therapies. Cancer treatment is entering a new era with a growing recognition that prioritising the surgical removal of a diagnosed tumour may involve risks that outweigh the benefits. Active surveillance is now a defined treatment plan that involves closely watching a patient’s condition for signs of change without treatment. CAST plans to enhance our understanding of cancer behaviour and monitoring strategies with the ultimate goal of reducing unnecessary surgery while improving patient outcome and quality of life.
Objective
When a patient is discovered to have cancer, one of the primary goals is to have the tumour removed by surgery. Although
this provides excellent oncological control, it is associated with morbidity and functional problems in cancer survivors. Recent
studies 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 toxic
side effects and /or damage to nerves, organs or healthy tissues. A number of recent clinical trials in the field of cancer
surgery have advocated the concept of watch and wait, watchful waiting, active monitoring or surveillance, which are terms
used to describe a monitoring strategy for cancer. The concept may be antithetical but the functional advantage of these
alternatives is clear even though there is some concern about the risk. Though the evidence is still weak, current studies
suggest that with adequate selection and follow-up, this oncological risk is small. A major consideration for clinicians is now
to maintain quality of life for all patients. Our objective in this proposal is to implement novel approaches so that cancer
surgery can be avoided, where we aim to (a) develop new monitoring technologies from industry so that the surveillance
window can be increased to allow for better treatment options over time and to avoid surgery, (b) develop new ‘watch and
wait’ strategies in order to study the behaviour of the cancer so that any risks to the patient can be minimised leading to a
better clinical outcome and (c) train a new generation of preclinical and clinical scientists to be able to implement this new
concept as standard of care and to maximise the benefits of an active monitoring policy.
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.
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine surgery
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine oncology
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
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.
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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.1. - Fostering new skills by means of excellent initial training of researchers
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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.
MSCA-ITN - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Networks (ITN)
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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) H2020-MSCA-ITN-2019
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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.
1066 CX Amsterdam
Netherlands
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.