Can.Heal

Cancer is strongly driven by genomic modifications, and wide profiling of these modifications with new technological approaches has become a major asset for (early) diagnosis, prognosis and therapy in regard to personalised medicine. The Can.Heal consortium recognises that prevention, diagnosis and treatment should be approached in a concerted way for optimal benefit of patients and citizens. In particular, the project aims to implement next-generation sequencing technology to identify genetic profiles of patients and tumor cells in a way that can be shared and interpreted across EU cancer centers, leading to improved equity in cancer treatment. In addition, Can.Heal plans to develop cancer risk estimation strategies in healthy populations, establish remote genetic counseling and integrate genomic profiling into paediatric cancer screening, as well as incorporate the Genome Europe biobanking initiative into public health genomics for cancer.

ECPC co-leads WP2, entitled “Communication, Dissemination and Outreach”, with the main tasks of promoting a framework for integrating Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) and Public Health Genomics (PHG) into health systems. This will ensure early diagnosis in conjunction with the other two pillars of the project (Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment for All and Genomics for Public Health) as well as facilitating effective external communication and dissemination of key messages and results.