The Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (DKFZ) and the French Cancéropôle Grand-Est (CGE) are entering into a collaboration in the area of tumor virology

The collaboration is scheduled for a period of several years. The joint financing plan comprises annual funds of 1.4 million euros. On the part of Germany, the project is supported by the DKFZ, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the state of Baden-Württemberg and the Helmholtz Association of National Research Centers. On the part of France, funds are provided by the Institut National du Cancer, the Ligue Nationale contre le Cancer as well as the regions Alsace, Champagne-Ardenne and Franche-Comté.

Both parties will align their research efforts in order to attain a better understanding of the role of human papillomaviruses (HPV) in the development of cervical cancer and other malignant tumors and to search for novel prognostic or diagnostic markers. Alongside basic research, the partners will focus on applications in clinical practice with the aim of developing new methods of diagnosis and treatment. Both parties are contributing extensive collections of biomaterial, such as cervical smears and tumor tissue samples, to the collaboration.

The funds will at first be assigned to staff and infrastructure. A key component of the collaboration agreement is an extensive staff exchange encompassing scientists, clinicians, doctoral students and technicians. In addition, both partners will jointly generate tumor tissue banks, medical databases and technology platforms for genome and proteome research, among others. Another goal is to develop high-throughput methods for HPV screening programs. The partnership also opens up a new dimension of the German-French collaboration between the DKFZ and the French National Institute for Health and Medical
Research (INSERM). The two organizations have operated a joint research unit housed at the DKFZ since 1992.

Experts expect that preventive vaccination against HPV will become available in the next few years (two vaccines are in the advanced stages of approval). In addition, the German-French consortium plans to develop targeted strategies for direct treatment both of precancerous lesions and advanced stages of cervical cancer. A main research focus of the virology alliance will be the search for direct and indirect mechanisms by which so-called high-risk HPV types trigger tumor development and influence tumor growth. In addition, the partners will be working on applications in clinical practice. Here, the researchers endeavor to develop novel molecular HPV tests to supplement or supersede conventional cell-biological tests. This will facilitate a more differentiated diagnosis and early detection of HPV infections than before. In this effort, researchers are interested in new prognostic markers which help medics to assess the individual risk of a patient with HPV infection of developing cancer.

Cervical cancer is the second most frequent cancer among women worldwide. Each year, about 500,000 women are newly diagnosed with cervical cancer and about 240,000 patients die from it. In Europe, experts estimate the number of new cases at 65,000 and mortality at 28,000 per year.
Cancéropôle Grand-Est (CGE) comprises five regions in France (Alsace, Bourgogne, Champagne-Ardenne, Franche-Comté and Lorraine). Activities in the field of tumor virology are coordinated from the city of Reims. CGE is one of seven Cancéropôles in France, which jointly support a national program that aligns research and clinical practice in the fight against cancer.

For further information about the French national anti-cancer plan and CGE: www.e-cancer.fr and www.canceropole-ge.org