From January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2023 TREL offered training and education to 49 VULSK professionals (23 researchers and 26 non-researchers). They twinned with 50 counterparts from partner institutions (33 researchers and 37 non-researchers). Nine educational events were organised to address all objectives.
The TREL project had a specific aim of supporting early-stage researchers (ESR). Several dedicated workshops on research methodology were organized. The provided material was captured in „Recommendations for ESR on proper research design and conduct“ available on the VULSK website. Medical and PhD students use them as guidance on research methodology. Six ESRs and two medical students were involved in the TREL activities. Three of them released project-related publications as first authors. Ultimately, a new PhD project on paediatric CNS tumours was initiated based on the project activities.
TREL aimed to increase knowledge sharing in basic and translational research through the incorporation of VULSK researchers into international research groups. VULSK researchers implemented novel diagnostic techniques for CNS tumours, joined the SIOPEN Biology Working group, and started to twin with SIOP-RTSG pathologists, regular training of bioinformaticians was set up, a prospective observational study on tumour samples was launched.
VULSK researchers joined three European tumour-specific research groups (SIOPE-BTG, SIOPEN, and SIOP-RTSG). Thirty patients benefited from multidisciplinary discussions with experts from partner institutions and received individual treatment recommendations. Several international clinical trials and observational studies were initiated and will be rolled out beyond the project duration. This will ensure the optimal diagnostics and treatment for Lithuanian children diagnosed with solid tumours.
Specific knowledge and skills to handle innovative therapies in early-phase clinical trials were provided in a dedicated workshop. Through two secondments, multidisciplinary teams were trained on drug delivery, handling, and monitoring. Thereafter a novel drug delivery and monitoring procedure was implemented at VULSK that will be exploited in clinical trials.
Survivorship Passport (SurPass) was implemented and issued to four Lithuanian survivors. VULSK researchers joined European efforts for the standardization of follow-up recommendations. An assessment of the quality of fertility counselling was launched. Ovarian tissue maturation protocol was developed. A systematic review of minimal infiltrative disease in ovarian cryopreserved tissue was published. All these activities will be continued after the project ends.
The TREL project had a special focus on strengthening research management and coordination of large-scale projects, including proposal preparation, project management, administration, and innovation transfer abilities. A team including project managers, a data protection officer, a lawyer, a statistician, a communication specialist, and clinical trial coordinators received training at partner premises and educational events. The major achievement was the submission of a new Twinning proposal SCARLET under the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2023-2024 that received funding. Thus, twinning on early and late toxicities initiated within the TREL project will be continued.
TREL used the public SIOPE website for dissemination and communication. Quarterly news was released on the SIOPE website, translated into Lithuanian and posted on the VULSK webpage (
https://www.santa.lt/horizontas-2020-programa/(s’ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre)). The twinning effort was promoted via social media on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. TREL was presented in 23 scientific events, including eight oral presentations. Five peer-reviewed publications and nine conference proceedings were released.
