THE RESEARCH AREA OF ONCOLOGY AT THE MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF GRAZ (MUG)
Every year about 36.000 people in Austria are diagnosed with cancer. Thus, malignant tumour diseases represent the second most frequent cause of death after cardiovascular diseases. Considering the fact that cancer predominantly occurs at a mature age and considering the demographic trend of prolonged life expectancy, the importance of oncology will further increase in the future.
(Source: http://www.statistik.at/web_de/statistiken/gesundheit/krebserkrankungen/). Due to these developments oncology may evolve to the economically most important field of therapy already as early as in 2010.
The high relevance of oncology and the associated research is also reflected in multiple activities at the MUG: according to a recent survey of the rectorate, about 15% of MUG personnel are employed in the field of “cancer research and related areas”; 26% of funding, 20% of publications and 25% of impact factors can be attributed to oncology. Accordingly, the field of tumour research is traditionally of considerable significance at the MUG. Therefore, oncology was defined as a research area in the autumn of 2008.
Publications by the research area of oncology: http://forschung.meduni-graz.at/fodok/suchen.ff_publikationen?sprache_in=de&menue_id_in=&id_in=3
Projects by the research area of oncology: http://forschung.meduni-graz.at/fodok/suchen.ff_projekte?sprache_in=de&menue_id_in=&id_in=3
The elected speakers are being demonstrated in the following illustration. On the basis of existing competences and successes, the employees of this research area are systematically trying to further expand oncology for future tasks and challenges.
(Click on image to enlarge)
At present there are already activities in tumour research in numerous multidisciplinary areas. The predominant majority of the current projects can be assigned to the field of applied clinical research. Present activities in the area of basic research will be further expanded by new initiatives within our research areas. For this purpose an extensive state-of-the art range of innovative technologies is already available at several institutes and clinics. Especially due to the establishment of a well organized biobanking resource, which comprises biological samples and associated information and which represents an internationally visible and approved infrastructure, the MUG has a unique advantage, putting tumour research in a particularly favourable position. In addition, research activities are supported by a high degree of interaction between different clinics or between clinics and research institutes. This networking is reflected in already established structures, such as the PhD-programme MEDICA (MEtabolic DIseases and CAncer), the accompanying Doctoral School with the same name, the “ISET-Net”, an interdisciplinary group working with a special technique for the identification and collection of circulating tumour cells (coordinated by Prof. C. Lackner), the liver network (coordinated by Prof. M. Trauner), and several interdisciplinary tumour counselling services especially dedicated to families with suspicion of hereditary tumour diseases.
In several workshops, various areas where a particularly large number of activities is already existent and should be expanded in a translational approach, were identified:
1. Tumorbiology: consecutive establishment of new somatic factors for diagnostics, prognosis, prediction and disease monitoring:
A. cellular analyses: tumour stem cells, dissemination, and metastasis
B. non-cellular analyses: serum DNA, proteins,…
(Coordinators: M. Balic, C. Lackner, M. Speicher)
2. Microenvironment
(Coordinators: J. Haybäck, C. Gülly, A. Leithner)
3. Myleoid group
(Coordinator: H. Sill)
4. Improved options of treatment of cancer (hyperthermia during chemotherapy; individualized therapy)
(Coordinators: H. Kapp, H. Samonigg)
5. Measures for prevention / identification of at-risk persons (e.g. secondary leukaemia)
(Coordinators: W. Renner)
6. Palliative medicine / psycho oncology
(Coordinators: E. Andritsch, T. Bauernhofer, S. Zloklikovic)
In these fields new concepts of research with the following aims are being developed: identification of predictive markers towards an individualized tumour therapy, prevention by the identification of high-risk persons, genetic analysis of cancer cells and analysis of their patterns of instability, tumour stem cells, and processes involved in metastasis. These ambitious aims shall be realized in a translational approach, i.e. an extensive connection between basic and clinical research.
The discussions in several workshops have already led to new synergetic effects and co-operations. At present already existing activities are being comprehensively concentrated at institutes and clinics, common projects are being defined and strategies for the procurement of research funding are being developed.
A periodic jour fixe was established for the coordination and simplified dissemination of information of the individual teams. In order to address as many colleagues as possible and to systematically achieve the aim of expanding translational research, these discussions are being held within a very open framework.