Rare cancersRare cancers are associated with poor survival, accounting for 22% of new cancer diagnoses in Europe, and 30% of cancer deaths. Sarcomas are a heterogeneous group of life-threatening rare solid malignancies affecting soft and bone tissues, representing 10% of rare tumors and around 2% of adult tumors, with an incidence of 5.9/100,000/year in Europe. Appropriate management of sarcoma patients is hindered by the absence of referral policies to reference centers (RCs), incorrect or delayed diagnosis, non-adherence of therapies to clinical practice guidelines (CPGs), and lack of expertise by practitioners, which increases the risk of relapse and death. These problems worsen in the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) due to the scarcity or complete unavailability of RCs, expert pathologists, multidisciplinary tumor boards (MTBs), new cancer drugs, clinical trials, patient registry data, and financial resources. Hence, the SELNET project seeks to create a European and Latin American multidisciplinary network of clinical and translational specialists to improve diagnosis and clinical care in sarcomas, with the aim of validating a collaborative model replicable in other rare tumors and in other countries. Recognized cancer centers and research groups of Spain, Italy, France, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Costa Rica, and Peru will contribute to better rare cancer care by fostering RCs, healthcare barrier analysis, CPGs, and medical education as key improvement drivers. The core of the research work focuses on improving diagnosis and prognosis of sarcoma patients through the creation of pathological diagnosis networks, MTBs, the conduct of an international registry-based observational study to assess clinical management quality and prognostic factors, and the implementation of an strategic translational research program to develop intercontinental sarcoma biobanks, preclinical models, and a translational study with drugs in rare sarcoma subtypes.

Gastric cancer has good chances to be cured if diagnosed at an early stage; currently, there is lack of a reliable non-invasive screening tool. Eastern Europe and Latin America are among the geographical areas with high burden of the disease. This project is aiming at developing a non-invasive gastric cancer screening tool by detecting characteristic panels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The mechanisms of VOC origin and their composition in gastric cancer patients will be addressed via headspace analysis of cancer tissue, cell-lines, and bacterial flora; VOCs identified during this analysis will be compared to the compounds present in human breath, both via gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Based on this data, a new type of breath analyser will be developed and validated building upon previously acquired expertise of the consortium members. Specifically, the exhaled breath analyser will combine electronic nose concepts utilizing gold nanoparticles and metal oxide sensors with orthogonal mid-infrared spectroscopic techniques for obtaining multi-dimensional analytical data sets; furthermore, compact pre-concentration schemes will be evaluated. All components will be integrated into several prototypes of portable and optimized devices. The clinical studies will be conducted in parallel in European (Latvia, Ukraine) and Latin American (Colombia, Brazil, Chile) countries with high disease burden. Patients with gastric cancer and individuals with and without precancerous lesions (dysplasia, atrophy, intestinal metaplasia) will be enrolled. The role of confounding factors including H.pylori infection will be addressed. As the main result, we expect to provide the first reliable non-invasive gastric cancer screening device based on exhaled breath analysis concepts for future large-scale implementation. The development of according research competences and international collaborations therefore is the most vital component of this project.

Worldwide, more than 550,000 new cases of head and neck cancer (HNC) occur each year, resulting in approximately 300,000 deaths annually. It is the 6th most common cancer in both Europe and South America. A major reason for the high mortality rate for this cancer is the late stage of diagnosis for many patients. Accurate assessment of the prognosis of HNC cases also allows for appropriate treatment decisions. HEADSpAcE will bring together a consortium of 18 partners with a long and successful record of collaboration in HNC. The impact of HEADSpAcE will be to understand reasons for late diagnosis and reduce the proportion of HNC that are diagnosed at a very late stage. It will identify the most appropriate fashion for diagnosis cancer caused by human papilloma virus, and also provide genomic evidence of strong predictors of prognosis that will have the potential to improve care and reduce treatment related morbidity. We will also develop guidelines for implementation into clinical care.