European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer

EORTC Logo

The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) is an international non-profit organization with a scientific goal created in 1962 by European cancer specialists, one of whom was the Belgian Professor Henri Tagnon. The organization’s head office is located in Brussels. Today, the co-ordination and analysis center includes over 150 staff members from many different nationalities. Since 1972, the NCI (National Cancer Institute) has had a liaison office nearby to promote cooperation and coordination of cancer research in the United States and Europe.

Mission, history, and background

EORTC’s mission is to promote, coordinate, analyze and publish clinical cancer research carried out by about 20 co-operating and multidisciplinary groups consisting of all types of cancer related specialists: radiotherapists, surgeons, medical oncologists, pathologists, immunologists, etc., to improve the treatment, and therefore the survival and quality of life, of all cancer patients.

European focus and a global partnership

EORTC is the only organization which carries out clinical studies at European level for all types of cancer. These activities allow the compilation of data on a large number of patients, ensuring that valid and convincing statistics are made available as quickly as possible. The multidisciplinary expertise of EORTC makes the organization an ideal partner for other academic networks. Co-operative clinical trials aiming rare tumors and frequent tumor sub-entities (identified by molecular changes) can therefore be carried out efficiently, ensuring the credibility of results and their rapid implementation. This partnership is not limited to European academic groups but also extends to both the American and Canadian National Cancer Institutes and several Australian networks.

A rigorous and independent methodology

The scientific design and analysis of each study is always carried out independently. EORTC also supports valuable co-operation between researchers, clinicians and the pharmaceutical industry to evaluate innovative molecules and shorten the period between the discovery of a new medication and its actual use.

The EORTC in figures

50 years of concrete and applied results

The EORTC has designed new benchmark treatments, in particular for:

Funding for the EORTC

EORTC Charitable Trust

The EORTC Charitable Trust was created in 1976 to collect the necessary funds for EORTC to function with the cooperation of national cancer leagues involved in the fight against cancer (Germany, Belgium, Denmark, France, Hong Kong, Norway, The Netherlands, The UK, Switzerland, Sweden, etc.). Albert II, Prince of Monaco is the Honorary President and Sir Christopher Mallaby chairs the Board of Directors of the EORTC Charitable Trust.[1]

Transparent and diversified financing

EORTC research is supported by the EORTC Charitable Trust, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the United States of America, Fonds Cancer (FOCA), and the Belgian National Lottery. The European Commission provides support only for selected projects. Partnerships with the pharmaceutical industry have been set up within the framework of special studies approved by an independent peer review committee. Nevertheless, more than 70% of clinical studies led by EORTC focus on drugs that have already been commercialized or on combined strategies such as radiotherapy and surgery and consequently these studies require financial support from other sources. Additional contributions and sponsorship are vital to cover these scientific activities where the main goal is to effectively promote European cancer clinical research.

Main scientific events and methodology courses

See also

References

  1. ↑ "EORTC Charitable Trust". Retrieved 24 May 2014.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, January 12, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.