Two successful years of the National Decade Against Cancer

On the occasion of World Cancer Day, Federal Research Minister Anja Karliczek together with Prof. Michael Baumann and Dr. Özlem Türeci, members of the NDK Strategy Group, and Prof. Dirk Jäger (NCT Heidelberg) presented the successes of the initiative.

At a press conference on the occasion of World Cancer Day, Federal Research Minister Anja Karliczek together with Dr. Özlem Türeci (Cluster of Excellence Ci3), Prof. Michael Baumann (DKFZ) and Prof. Dirk Jäger (NCT Heidelberg) took stock after two years of the National Decade against Cancer.

The aim of the National Decade Against Cancer is to strengthen cancer research and further improve the chances of a cure for patients. The 16 partners continued their work in the Decade in 2020. Based on the results and recommendations of the three working groups of the Decade, important initiatives and projects were launched and implemented:

The BMBF is funding a interdisciplinary consortia to research the prevention of colorectal cancer in younger people and research into tumor heterogeneity and new treatment strategies based on this. The Ministry is also supporting the better use of medical data from patient care for research in order to develop new therapies and bring them to those affected more quickly with a funding guideline.

In addition, as part of the National Decade Against Cancer, the National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) is being expanded from two sites in Heidelberg and Dresden to up to six sites. The NCT brings together outstanding cutting-edge research and state-of-the-art patient care under one roof. The expansion will enable even more people with cancer to have better access to the latest findings from cancer research and new treatment and diagnostic options in the future.

A decisive success factor of the National Decade Against Cancer is the first-time and comprehensive networking of all players across disciplinary boundaries. The partners have therefore called on all relevant players to join the Decade as supporters. In the second year of the Decade, it has thus been possible to mobilize further forces for strong cancer research: Around 40 organizations, institutions and companies from very different areas of society are now involved as supporters of the Decade - and the number is growing.

In addition to national efforts, European cooperation is also important. The BMBF therefore used the German EU Council Presidency in the second half of 2020 to strengthen cancer research at a European level. Together with Portugal and Slovenia, its partners in the trio presidency, the BMBF adopted a declaration on strengthening European cancer research in October 2020. The aim is to give people everywhere in Europe equal access to the best and most modern care.

The National Decade Against Cancer will continue its efforts to strengthen cancer research in the coming year. In particular, patient involvement in research will be promoted, for example with a patient charter for cancer research at European level.

»To the news article on the website of the National Decade Against Cancer