Cancers are the second most common cause of death in the Czech Republic and the EU, yet almost half of these deaths can be prevented. The SALVAGE project, fully entitled "Saving Lives through Research on Early Detection and Prevention of Cancer: Molecular, Genomic and Social Factors", addresses major research challenges in primary, secondary and tertiary cancer prevention. This week, representatives of the consortium met at the Masaryk Institute of Oncology in Brno, and inaugurated its implementation. The project will contribute to the main objectives of the European Cancer Plan, the EU Cancer Mission and the Czech Health Research Concept 2030, while at the same time delivering results that can be applied in clinical practice, strengthening international cooperation and reducing the research deficit in this area.
"The SALVAGE project has three research aims, in which we are looking at the causes of pre-cancerous conditions and tumours and how to influence them, at the level of cells, individuals and entire populations. We connect laboratories with clinical practice and excellent scientific teams across the Czech Republic. International outreach is also important, as evidenced by the fact that the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) based in Lyon, whose representative Dr. Jiří Zavadil gave an invited lecture at the launch," adds Prof. Marek Svoboda, principal investigator of the SALVAGE project and Director of the Masaryk Institute of Oncology.
The first of the research projects is in charge of the Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine of Palacký University in Olomouc (ÚMTM UPOL). "Our research provides insight into the molecular basis of precancerous and early cancerous lesions and tumour-host interactions. These processes are crucial for understanding the process of malignant transformation, which is important for improving cancer prevention, detection and treatment," explains junior researcher Dr. Zdeněk Škrott, who is leading the research project. It aims to investigate the role of genomic integrity, proteotoxic stress responses and cellular senescence in early oncogenesis and to explore molecular diversity in precancerous and cancerous lesions and stromal cells. Genomic, epigenetic and proteomic analysis is planned to identify novel markers and improve diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. Further research will focus on exploring tumor-host interactions, the importance of the tumor microenvironment and immune surveillance.
Understanding the trends in incidence, mortality and accumulation of various types of cancer and their pre-cancerous conditions and the trends in risk factors in the Czech population is important for orienting cancer control strategies. "The aim of the second SALVAGE research project is to update and expand existing information and to conduct new analyses of national, regional and cohort-specific data on cancer incidence, mortality and survival in order to explore temporal changes, geographical differences and social inequalities in cancer risk," says prof. Martin Bobák, Head of the RECETOX research programme at the Faculty of Science, Masaryk University.
The project involves analysing the association between traditional and new risk factors and biomarkers with selected major cancer types and estimating the proportion of cases attributable to these risk factors. Furthermore, the role of the human exposome and microbiome in cancer risk will be investigated. It will look for reasons for differences in screening uptake in the population by, for example, geographical location, age, and socioeconomic and psychosocial factors, and assess trends and determinants of changes in survival for the main cancer types, particularly in relation to metastatic cancer, cancer prognosis and cancer care pathways. To achieve these ambitious goals, Research Project 2 will use a wide range of existing and newly acquired datasets and their linkages.
The third and last research project is aimed at early detection of pre-cancerous conditions and early cancers, their prevention and therapy. Key activities include non-invasive diagnosis of tumours and precancers using body fluids, innovative detection methods, multi-omic analysis of precancerous lesions and the use of circulating tumour cells and exosomes. Furthermore, the project focuses on therapeutic interventions, including the use of some existing drugs for chemoprevention, and the development of innovative therapeutics. In the area of prevention, risk factors for the development of secondary tumours in cancer patients are identified and personalised clinical trials are designed. The research team is led by Assoc. Marián Hajdúch from the Institute of Medical Research at UPOL in collaboration with other members of the consortium.
"Current activities include the preparation or launch of several clinical trials for biobanking and early detection of tumours, for example by detecting the presence of HPV in the oral cavity, which causes tumours in the oral cavity and throat, a validation clinical study on biomarkers for the early detection of lung cancer from exhaled air, or a cohort prevention study on individuals at high risk of cancer recruited from patients cured of childhood cancer or from families with a proven hereditary risk of cancer," concludes dr. Hajdúch.
Source: MMCI
In their latest study, scientists from RECETOX (MUNI), the University at Buffalo in the U.S., the National Institute of Public Health in Prague, and University College London in the U.K. found that education plays a role in protecting lung health during the aging process.
From November 5–7, 2024, we participated in the annual meeting of the European consortium ACTRIS. This event serves as a key platform for regular partner meetings, fostering collaboration, sharing the latest updates and experiences, and discussing critical topics related to the development and operation of the ACTRIS research infrastructure.
