includes researchers from the bench (basic laboratory scientists) to the bedside (clinical trialists), pathologists, genetics, bioinformaticians expert from academia and SMEs.
The consortium has longstanding expertise in
The partners (GBG, IJB, IGR, CHARITE) have access to large cohorts of well documented clinical tumour samples (FFPE, fresh frozen) from prospective clinical breast cancer trials. This includes approx. 1500 samples from neoadjuvant chemotherapy plus trastuzumab or lapatinib trials (GeparQuattro/-Quinto, TECHNO, NeoALTTO), and an additional approx. 1500 samples from neoadjuvant chemotherapy trials using chemotherapy +/- bevacizumab (GeparQuinto, BEATRICE).
The samples have already been centralised in the participating bio banks of the partners. The consortium is able to cover the therapeutic strategies for breast cancer assessed in this project including trastuzumab and lapatinib therapy (GBG, IGR, IJB), classical chemotherapy (GBG, Karolinska, IGR, IJB), and bevacizumab (GBG).
The partners have expertise in the isolation of DNA and RNA from FFPE tissue (CHARITE, Sividon, IJB), high throughput qPCR analysis in FFPE tissue (Sividon), genome-wide parallel sequencing (DNAVision), kinome arrays (IGR), epigenetics (IJB, DNAVision), RNAi based techniques (UCL), identification of alternate RNA splicing (ExonHit) and immunohistochemistry (CHARITE). These groups combine the highest standards within molecular biology, bioinformatics, clinical development, clinical trials and outcome research.
Longstanding experience in the planning and conduct of health economic evaluation studies is provided by UNIBAS-ECPM. UNIBAS is, among other assignments, responsible for the outcomes research and health economic activities of the Swiss Group for Clinical Cancer Research.
All members of the consortium are internationally recognised for their respective research, and many of them have already established collaborations.
All SMEs are highly innovative in their field. As an independent spin off from SIEMENS healthcare diagnostics, partner Sividion can build on the expertise and know-how previously acquired in a large diagnostics company. Sividon’s business is focused on the development of molecular biomarker tests using FFPE tissue in clinico-pathological routine laboratories.
Many partners (GBG, Karolinska, CHARITE, IJB,IGR) are involved in the development of clinical guidelines for breast cancer therapy and are therefore aware of new developments and discoveries that are relevant for the theme of the research throughout the duration of the project.
Project coordination: GBG & CHARITE, Project management: TP21.