PREDI-LYNCH consortium meeting in Bratislava

Oslo University Hospital coordinates PREDI-LYNCH, a European project developing less invasive ways to detect cancer early in people living with Lynch syndrome. On 8–9 September the consortium met at the Comenius University Science Park in Bratislava for its General Assembly and annual meeting, hosted by Geneton and Comenius University.

The clinical trial at the centre of the project is now close to opening. Alongside standard colonoscopy-based surveillance, it will test liquid biopsies together with simple kits for urine, stool and vaginal samples that participants can use at home, with results returned to clinicians in around twelve weeks. Sites in Norway, France, Finland, the Netherlands, Latvia, Croatia and the United Kingdom are preparing to begin recruitment this autumn.

The first day opened with PREDI-ROUND I, moderated by Carla Oliveira (i3S), bringing together clinical research, patient perspectives and European health policy. Toni Seppälä underlined that new approaches must demonstrate safety, cost-effectiveness and acceptability. Neil Ryan presented PREDI-ENDO, where women have been involved in designing the study of endometrial cancer surveillance, and Tamara Hussong Milagre returned the discussion to everyday life: success should mean less anxiety, fewer invasive procedures and better quality of life. Professor Tit Albreht, President of the European Public Health Association, spoke on the role of European collaboration: "European projects can provide the scientific evidence to inform decision makers, while recognising that new approaches must be adapted to national and cultural contexts."

On the second day, Susan van Hees presented the project's work on patients' values and expectations around new testing, and the health economics team shared early progress on surveys and focus groups addressing the question at the heart of PREDI-LYNCH: is this safer, more acceptable and more affordable than what exists today?

"Our ambition is to generate evidence that can guide clinical practice and make earlier detection more accessible across Europe," says PREDI-LYNCH Coordinator Mev Dominguez-Valentin, leader of the Inherited and Familial Cancer Project Group at the Department of Tumour Biology, Institute for Cancer Research. "This meeting helps us agree the next steps towards that goal."

About PREDI-LYNCH (oslocancercluster.no): 
The project “Validated non-invasive liquid biopsy tests for cancer PREDIction in LYNCH Syndrome, PREDI-LYNCH"  is funded by the European Commission Horizon Europe Mission on Cancer with 13.6 million Euro.
PREDI-LYNCH will run for six years (2025-2031), and the consortium consists of 28 partners from 16 European countries.

The initiative is led by researcher Mev Dominguez-Valentin at the Institute for Cancer Research, Oslo University Hospital (OUS). The University of Oslo (UiO) and Oslo Cancer Cluster (OCC) are the other two Norwegian partners in the research and innovation project.

Read about the kickoff, from the Oslo Cancer Cluster homepage:
Bringing Europe together to tackle Lynch syndrome (oslocancercluster.no)