Project description
Advancing liquid biopsies for precision cancer care
Cancer is one of the major causes of mortality worldwide, and there is an urgent need for improved detection of disease progression and response to treatment. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the CTC4CLINIC project is designing and testing liquid biopsy platforms using circulating tumour cells (CTCs). It will use genomics, epigenomics, transcriptomics, live-cell imaging and AI to increase knowledge of metastasis and the evolution of cancers. The project will also create very sensitive standardised assays and clinical protocols to diagnose and monitor patients with breast, prostate, lung, and pancreatic cancers.
Objective
CTC4CLINIC is an innovative project, aims to improve cancer diagnosis and monitoring by developing and validating innovative liquid biopsy assays based on circulating tumor cells (CTCs). These tumor cells, found in the blood of cancer patients, are important prognostic factors. They also hold significant information for tumor behavior, disease evolution, and treatment response. However, they are not yet widely used in clinical practice due to their rarity and the difficulties in their isolation and characterization.
This project brings together experts from universities, hospitals, and private laboratories across Europe and the United States. It will combine different scientific approaches, including biochemistry, analytical chemistry, single-cell sequencing, spatial transcriptomics, live-cell imaging, and artificial intelligence, to better understand how tumors spread and evolve. A key innovation is the simultaneous analysis of CTCs in genomic, epigenomic, transcriptomic, and functional levels from the same patient sample, improving the sensitivity and reliability of liquid biopsy tools.
Therefore, the objectives of the current project are:
1. Elucidate the mechanistic role of CTCs in metastatic dissemination.
2. Develop standardized, highly sensitive, combined molecular and functional assays for CTC analysis.
3. Build a harmonized pipeline for clinical translation through intersectoral secondments, ensuring reproducibility and protocol standardization across partner institutions.
4. Provide advanced training for researchers, fostering transferable skills and accelerating the pathway from discovery to commercialization.
This staff exchange project will support the development of standardized protocols and the clinical validation of new diagnostic tools for patients with breast, prostate, lung, and pancreatic cancers.
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.
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry
- natural sciences computer and information sciences artificial intelligence
- natural sciences chemical sciences analytical chemistry
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine oncology pancreatic cancer
You need to log in or register to use this function
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.
-
HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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-TMA-MSCA-SE - HORIZON TMA MSCA Staff Exchanges
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) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-SE-01
See all projects funded under this callCoordinator
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.
265 04 RIO PATRAS
Greece
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.