Professor Michael Capra

Summary

ChiLTERN is a European-funded project under the Horizon 2020 programme. It is the single largest clinical trial ever undertaken amongst the paediatric population. With twenty-five beneficiaries over twelve European countries, ChiLTERN aims to cure more children with liver cancer, expose fewer children to toxic chemotherapy and ensure their surgery is both effective and safe. This project, with seven work packages (WP), addressing different aspects of the collaboration, has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 668596. Hepatoblastoma (HB) is the main liver tumour occurring in childhood, generally arising in infants under 3 years of age. In contrast, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the main liver tumour in adults, is much rarer in children. The outcome for HB patients has dramatically improved over the past 20 years due to the introduction of new chemotherapy regimens, combined with efficient surgical approaches. Accordingly, survival rates of paediatric patients with liver cancer have increased from 30% in the 1970s to about 75% nowadays. Nevertheless, there are still very limited treatment options for patients suffering from certain types of aggressive liver tumours because of their resistance to chemotherapy. Survivors can suffer serious side effects due to the high doses of chemotherapy administered to young children. Therefore, there is an urgent need to improve the knowledge of this rare cancer and discover new drugs and therapeutic targets to treat high-risk disease and reduce the severity of current chemotherapy-related side effects. The rarity of liver cancer in children makes it hard to run good clinical trials to identify the best treatments. Furthermore, the scientific community has had limited access to biological samples from patients and this has impaired our knowledge of the biology of the disease. Consequently, and in contrast to some other cancers, children with liver cancer have not benefited from the incorporation of biological data into medical practice, which might enable more reliably evidence-based treatments to become established as the standard of care. The core part of ChiLTERN is the Paediatric Hepatic International Tumour Trial (PHITT) (WP2) to which the consortium partners in Europe will contribute. Parallel trials are being run in USA and Japan, with all data being merged into a single database housed in Europe. The University of Birmingham is the trial's sponsor for European and the statistical analysis centre. The seven work packages are as follows: - WP1: data management plans, independent oversight committees - WP2: Pediatric Hepatic International Tumour Trial (PHITT) - WP3: collection and analysis of biological samples - WP4: validation of prognostic factors from previous trials (CHIC-HS) - WP5: establish surgical guidelines - liver resection and liver transplantation - WP6: identifying biological factors that determine drug-induced toxicities - WP7: communication and dissemination of results of chiLTERN

Funding Agency

European Union's Horizon 2020 - H2020-EU.3.1.3

Programme

Research and Innovation Programme

Project Type

Clinical Trial

Summary

While cancer survival rates have increased significantly, cancer survivors still suffer from a wide range of issues, often significantly decrementing their quality of life. Beyond the need for health systems to address these issues, cancer survivors also deserve to receive relevant and adapted information to help them meet the challenges they face. Such information should cover all aspects of their cancer survivorship, including access to specialist care and support services addressing both physical and psycho-social impacts of cancer. In this respect, the smartCARE project aims at developing a Cancer Survivor Smart Card to improve the quality of life and health status of cancer survivors, in the form of a mobile application, embracing the core attributes of patient-centred care. smartCARE will run an extensive user"s need assessment to achieve the fullest understanding of the range of survivors, caregiver & healthcare professionals" needs associated to the development of a cancer Survivor Smart Card. In doing so, particular understanding will be gained in respect to paediatric and adult cancer survivor needs and the needs of cancer survivors with co-morbidities. smartCARE will conceptualise specifications and develop the overarching long-term vision of a Cancer Survivor Smart Card. In addition, smartCARE will run a technical proof of concept through the development and piloting of an application by defining an interoperable Smart Card solution usable across a variety of healthcare infrastructures and readily available to survivors and their families. The Smart Card will facilitate patient empowerment, allowing survivors to have an easy access to their treatment summary, being able to share it with relatives and professionals but also having access to a broad range of resources and functionalities enhancing quality of life. The application will comprise three main elements: treatment summary, resources functions & follow-up care plan and self-management tools.

Funding Agency

European Health and Digital Executive Agency

Programme

EU4H-2021-PJ2

Project Type

EU4H Project Grants

Summary

Introduction . Survival rates are now approaching 80% for childhood cancers overall, however survivors of childhood cancer carry a substantial burden of morbidity and are at increased risk of premature death. . Early detection and intervention of side-effects/long term effects of disease and treatment may improve patient outcomes. . No population-based data exists on the numbers of childhood cancer survivors in Ireland or the incidence and range of direct cancer and/or cancer treatment-related effects experienced. . Transitioning from childhood cancer care to adult care is challenging for survivors. . The Department of Health's National Cancer Strategy 2017-2026 recognizes the increasing unmet service needs of survivors and is committed to addressing this deficiency. . Service planners and those delivering care to survivors are now challenged to develop and provide a world class comprehensive survivorship service informed by a robust research infrastructure. Aim The over-arching aim of this project is to facilitate the development of a national comprehensive survivorship service for all survivors of childhood cancer while at the same time establishing a longitudinal survivorship research infrastructure. Method Service development must be underpinned by accurate data on current service provision, deficits to care and future requirements. At present, no population-based data exists on the numbers of childhood cancer survivors in Ireland and the incidence and range of direct cancer and/or cancer treatment-related effects experienced. In addition, there is a paucity of data available on the challenges of transitioning to adult care and where, how and by whom this care is provided. There is limited data on the needs and perspectives of childhood, adolescent and young adult cancer patients, their parents/guardians and the professionals delivering that service. This lack of data is arguably the greatest limiting factor to the development of a world class national service in Ireland for this cohort of patients. A survivorship project team, led by Dr Michael Capra and Dr Katherine Gavin at CHI, has begun the critical first step in addressing this data deficit by collaborating with Trinity College Dublin to design an electronic Irish childhood cancer survivorship database. This in turn will help generate a Treatment Summary/Survivorship Passport which will be given to patients/survivors to facilitate their transition on graduation from paediatric to adult care. The aim is to have this survivorship passport electronically available to survivors as well as health care professionals through the proposed National Clinical Imaging System (NCIS) of the National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP). The database will provide an infrastructure to facilitate research in multiple areas pertaining to Irish childhood cancer survivors with the aim of delivering tailored patient centered-care, improved survival and quality of life. The project is now embarking on increasing the collaborative effort to include the Irish Cancer Society (ICS), to extend the collaboration with the NCCP, and to pursue active collaboration with the parent/pateint advocacy groups - Children's Cancer Foundation and CanCare4Living, relative to the mutual synergies and common aim of all parties.

Funding Agency

Children's Health Foundation

Programme

N/A

Summary

Multidisciplinary project to document the trajectory and meaning of hope in parents with cancer

Funding Agency

Canadian Institute of Health Research, Brainchild

Project Type

Clinical

Summary

Funding Agency

National Cancer Institute of Canada

Project Type

Clinical