Research

German-Danish Cancer Research Consortium Awarded Another € 540,000

Exultation in Institutes and Departments at the Universität zu Lübeck

The Interreg programme gave the German-Danish project another shot in the arm. The Changing Cancer Care programme funded four universities and departments to the tune of € 540,000 to undertake cross-border research.

The consortium includes the Institute for Cancer Epidemiology, the Department of Radiation Therapy, the Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics and the Section for Research and Teaching in Nursing at the Institute for Social Medicine and Epidemiology.

The University Medical Centre in Næstved will lead a part of the German-Danish consortium over the next three years, on research aimed at improving diagnostics and treatment of cancer. A key goal is to involve cancer patients more deeply in their treatment and care, in order to raise their level of satisfaction and the quality of care.

Research spotlight on patients

"We will build on our findings from the prior project
InnoCan
", said Prof. Dr Alexander Katalinic, Director of the Institute for Cancer Epidemiology and the Institute for Social Medicine and Epidemiology at our Universität zu Lübeck, adding, "Taking experiences of cancer patients into consideration can fundamentally help improve the treatments and care."

Plans also call for tasks to investigate innovative diagnostics and treatments, such as diagnosis with DNA analysis of blood samples (fluid biopsy), treatment of metastases of the skin using calcium electroporation, and radiation therapy to reduce side-effects arising from complications in spinal marrow.

Another element of the project focusses on adapting nursing training to novel treatments and technologies in clinical environments. The Changing Cancer Care project takes advantage of its broad cancer treatment network, stemming from collaboration among epidemiologists, physicians, nursing staff, scientists, and companies based in Germany and Denmark.

The overall budget for the Changing Cancer Care programme is € 4.1 million, supplemented by another € 2.4 million from the European Fund for Regional Development. Our Universität zu Lübeck partners with another eight universities, including the University College Absalon and the Danish Cancer Society.