With and for those affected: Three years of the National Decade against Cancer

This is the third anniversary of the National Decade Against Cancer. The mission: to improve the lives and survival of cancer patients through research. A new type of alliance in Germany is to provide further support.

All partners and supporters of the National Decade Against Cancer want to strengthen cancer research in the areas of prevention, early detection, diagnostics and new therapies and drive it forward in a targeted manner. Findings and innovations resulting from research are to be brought to people more quickly.

Focus 2022: Involving those affected in cancer research

Those affected must have a say, especially in research. Their knowledge of the challenges and hardships of dealing with the disease on a daily basis helps to align cancer research with their needs. In its fourth year, the National Decade Against Cancer is therefore deliberately focusing on patient participation and has launched the "Alliance for Patient Involvement in Cancer Research in Germany".

The Federal Ministry of Education and Research has already set important milestones in 2021 to anchor real, active participation of people with cancer and their representatives in the research culture: Building on the declaration "Europe: Together against cancer" (PDF, 184KB, file is barrier-free⁄barrier-free), which anchors patient involvement as a focus of cancer research in Europe, patient representatives have worked together with researchers in a bottom-up process to develop the "The principles for successful patient involvement in cancer research" (PDF, 503KB, file is barrier-free⁄barrier-free). They are aimed equally at researchers and patients and offer important practical support to ensure that genuine participation can be successful. The Alliance for Patient Involvement is now working on implementing the principles so that they become the new standard in cancer research. More than 40 institutions have already joined the Alliance.

Research funding by the BMBF

Only strong cancer research can produce medical innovations that open up new opportunities for those affected. To this end, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research has implemented important research projects in 2021: Two powerful research consortia have been selected to begin research into a previously major unresolved issue in cancer medicine: the mechanisms of tumor heterogeneity. The aim is to find out how tumor cells manage to evade both the immune system and initially effective cancer therapies in the long term. The interdisciplinary consortia are working to ensure that such therapy resistance can be prevented more effectively in the future.

In addition, the BMBF is funding the development and testing of new approaches to data analysis, with which extensive data from cancer research and care can be better evaluated for the benefit of those affected. On the one hand, this will lead to better networking of (existing) data. On the other hand, translation will be accelerated, i.e. findings will be brought to the patient's bedside more quickly.

Strong science communication

How exactly "translation" can look in practice, how basic oncological processes are investigated or what developments there are in cancer therapy and prevention research - all this and more is explained in "Tatort Krebs", the research podcast of the National Decade Against Cancer.

Guests from science, patient advocacy, self-help and counseling report on their day-to-day work, explain research areas and paint a picture of cancer research in layman's terms. The launch of the podcast is a further step by the National Decade Against Cancer to break down the taboo surrounding cancer, make people aware of the importance of active prevention and early detection and raise awareness of the importance of cancer research.

Outlook: Four out of ten

Based on the measures and results to date, the work of the National Decade Against Cancer continues at a fast and energetic pace. The causes of bowel cancer in younger people are being researched. Basic research is being promoted, as are clinical studies that change practice. The topics of risk-adapted prevention and opportunities for a good life with and after cancer are also on the agenda for 2022. At the same time, the National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) will be expanded from two to a total of six locations. This will ensure that even more cancer patients can be offered customized diagnoses and therapies at the cutting edge of science.

We look forward to continuing our successful collaboration with our partners and supporters in 2022.

»To the message on the website of the National Decade Against Cancer