German Consortium for Translational Cancer Research

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The German Consortium for Translational Cancer Research (DKTK) is an initiative of the federal government to promote medical cancer research. It is one of six “German Centers for Health Research ” with the participation of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research , the federal states and the German Cancer Research Center .

Administrative structure

The DKTK Foundation was established on October 18, 2012. As the supervisory body of the DKTK Foundation, the Board of Trustees is composed of 8 members of the DKTK donors, i. H. One representative from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and one representative from each of the science ministries of the federal states involved in the DKTK.

As the central steering committee, the steering committee manages the foundation's business. In particular, he has to ensure that the purpose of the foundation is fulfilled permanently and sustainably. The steering committee is formed from the two DKFZ board members and the speakers from the DKTK partner locations.

The scientific work of the consortium is also supported by a Scientific Advisory Board made up of 12 internationally leading experts in translational cancer research.

The DKTK is financed through an institutional funding model with the DKFZ as the foundation's sponsor. The annual budget of the DKTK has been 27.8 million euros since 2014 (90% by the federal government / 10% by the states). The total budget in the first research period (2012–2015) corresponded to 80.5 million euros. For this purpose, 21.8 million euros were used for investments, 38 million euros for personnel and 20.7 million euros for material resources.

aims

Biobanks and patient data are important sources for advancing new diagnostic or therapeutic methods. A common IT platform gives scientists at the DKTK access to the data that is important for their research across all locations.

The main goal is to develop, test and apply new strategies for personalized oncology . The DKTK promotes interdisciplinary research topics at the interface between basic research and clinical practice, as well as clinical studies of innovative therapeutic and diagnostic methods that were developed in the consortium. A core task of the consortium is to continuously examine how results from basic research can be used for increasingly individualized prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer. The DKTK promotes interdisciplinary, cross-location research topics at the interface between basic research and clinical practice, as well as clinical studies of innovative therapeutic and diagnostic methods.

research

More than 950 scientists and supporting staff are involved in the DKTK. About 350 of the DKTK employees are employed by the German Cancer Research Center.

At the beginning of the second research period (2016-2020), five research programs were defined in which the DKTK scientists work on medical oncology topics:

Molecular Mechanisms of Carcinogenesis

The main goal of the program is to understand how genetic changes can lead to cancer. With the help of molecular biological, biochemical and bioinformatic technologies as well as in vivo models, the scientists at the DKTK investigate which genes and proteins are active and which are inactivated in tumor development and how these molecular differences influence the progression of the disease and the course of therapy.

Targeted Therapies

With the molecular and genetic methods of modern cancer research, scientists are increasingly able to elucidate cancer mechanisms, on the basis of which new therapies are developed that specifically only destroy tumor cells. The researchers in the consortium are investigating molecular pathways in which cancer drugs can target.

Molecular diagnostics, early detection and biomarkers

At the DKTK, instruments are being developed to establish the sequencing of the individual genome as a basic examination in patients with different types of cancer. With the help of biomarkers, it is possible to individually analyze for each cancer patient which signal pathways in the tissue are disrupted - in order to treat patients in a tailored manner.

Cancer immunotherapy

Various therapeutic cancer vaccinations are being examined in clinical studies at the DKTK. Antibodies and immune cells for cancer immunotherapy as well as methods for detecting immune activities in tumors are also being researched.

Radiation therapy and imaging

In the DKTK, the irradiation methods of proton and heavy ion therapy are to be systematically evaluated.

Clinical studies

The focus is on the “Clinical Communication Platform”. It is used to recruit patients for clinical studies and to set up a clinical cancer registry. The focus in the DKTK is on studies in clinical phases I - II.

Training of specialists

An important task of the DKTK is the promotion of young talent in the field of translational cancer research. Around 20 percent of all employees are young scientists who are doing their doctorate.

School of Oncology

In the DKTK, young doctors and scientists can take part in an education and training program in the School of Oncology. Through close cooperation and intensive exchange, you will learn to link scientific and clinical tasks with one another and to transfer research results into clinical application. The program of the School of Oncology is linked to the training offers of the Graduate Schools and PostDoc programs of the respective partner institutes. There is a wide range of advanced and advanced training courses.

Locations

DKTK locations.

With the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) as its core center, the DKTK unites more than 20 research centers and university clinics at eight locations within Germany:

Heidelberg (core center)

Berlin

Dresden

Essen / Düsseldorf

Frankfurt / Mainz

Munich

Freiburg

Tübingen

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Structure and committees of the DKTK. Retrieved December 18, 2017 .
  2. ↑ a b c DKTK: DKTK facts and figures (as of 2015). Retrieved February 8, 2018 .
  3. ^ Daniela Senft, Mark DM Leiserson, Eytan Ruppin, Ze'ev A. Ronai: Precision Oncology: The Road Ahead . In: Trends in Molecular Medicine . tape 23 , no. 10 , p. 874-898 , doi : 10.1016 / j.molmed.2017.08.003 .
  4. ↑ Peter Horak, Barbara Klink, Christoph Heining, Stefan Gröschel, Barbara Hutter: Precision oncology based on omics data: The NCT Heidelberg experience . In: International Journal of Cancer . tape 141 , no. 5 , September 1, 2017, ISSN  1097-0215 , p. 877-886 , doi : 10.1002 / ijc.30828 ( wiley.com [accessed January 8, 2018]).
  5. ^ Georg N. Duda, David W. Grainger, Megan L. Frisk, Leena Bruckner-Tuderman, Andrew Carr: Changing the Mindset in Life Sciences Toward Translation: A Consensus . In: Science Translational Medicine . tape 6 , no. 264 , November 26, 2014, ISSN  1946-6234 , p. 264cm12–264cm12 , doi : 10.1126 / scitranslmed.aaa0599 , PMID 25429054 ( sciencemag.org [accessed January 8, 2018]).
  6. ↑ DKTK research programs. Retrieved December 18, 2017 .
  7. ↑ DKTK: Research program “Molecular Mechanisms of Cancer Development” (Exploitation of Oncogenic Mechanisms, EOM). Retrieved February 8, 2018 .
  8. ↑ DKTK: Research Program "Targeted therapies" (Molecularly targeted therapy, MTT). Retrieved February 8, 2018 .
  9. ↑ DKTK: research program "Molecular diagnostics, screening and biomarker" (Molecular Diagnostics, Early Detection and biomarker development, MDEB). Retrieved February 8, 2018 .
  10. ↑ DKTK: Research Program "Cancer Immunotherapy" (Cancer Immunotherapy, CI). Retrieved February 8, 2018 .
  11. ↑ DKTK: Research Program "radiotherapy and imaging" (Radiation Oncology and Imaging ROI). Retrieved February 8, 2018 .
  12. ↑ Clinical studies in the DKTK. Retrieved December 18, 2017 .
  13. ↑ DKTK: The School of Oncology - possibility of specializing for physicians and natural scientists in translational oncology. Retrieved February 8, 2018 .
  14. ↑ DKTK locations. Retrieved December 18, 2017 .

Coordinates: 49 ° 24 ′ 51 ″  N , 8 ° 40 ′ 21 ″  E