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Networks and Collaborative Projects
The Hubertus Wald Tumor Center – University Cancer Center Hamburg (UCC Hamburg) is actively involved in various organizations, networks, and professional societies dedicated to oncology care. The goal is to improve scientific exchange, cancer research, and patient care. Here, we present a selection.
Beyond clinical care, research, and teaching, the main task of a Comprehensive Cancer Center is to establish networks that ensure broad, high-quality care for cancer patients. In terms of outreach—meaning targeted contact and engagement with specific groups to reach, inform, or involve them—the following illustration shows the different units and institutions supporting our patients and their caregivers throughout their treatment journey.
For example, these include care networks that establish overarching services available to all patients nationwide. At the same time, networking and promotion of cancer research play a particularly important role. Here, the expertise of different research locations is combined to strengthen research sustainably. All of this is done in the spirit of modern, interdisciplinary networking.
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The participants in these networks inspire each other, learn from each other, and initiate joint projects—without having to conduct parallel research on the same topics at multiple locations. It is equally important to rely on reliable networks with all medical partners in the region when it comes to patient care. In this way, we want to enable equal access to oncological care for all cancer patients.
It would go beyond the scope of this article to list all the networks in which we are active in detail. Nevertheless, we would like to mention a few particularly important collaborations to give an impression of the complexity of this work. We have listed many of the networks by topic on our website.
Joint projects
Joint projects are launched to ensure that the networks' work is dynamic and effective. These projects involve various institutions working together for a limited period of time to develop tasks jointly. In some cases, this can also serve as a model for other regions/countries.
Below, we have listed some of the joint projects financed by German Cancer Aid (Deutsche Krebshilfe e.V.) in more detail:
Networks
When researchers, physicians, patients, and institutions share their knowledge and collaborate, progress is made. Networks build bridges between disciplines—and bring innovations faster to the people who need them.
Below, we have listed some large networks and professional associations to provide an overview of networking. At the same time, we would like to use this list of exemplary topic-specific networks to show the wide range of topics we deal with.
Even though we are not a member of the network, we maintain close contact as an associated institution and represent the north:
Professional associations
Medical and scientific professional associations are platforms for knowledge, quality, and cooperation. They bring together the expertise of many specialists, develop guidelines for evidence-based medicine, and offer continuing education and training.
Interdisciplinary exchange promotes research and innovation while ensuring high standards of patient care. In addition, professional societies strengthen the voice of the profession in health policy discussions.
The two largest professional societies in oncology are the following:
In addition, there are professional societies in each individual field (e.g., radiation therapy, breast cancer, etc.), some of which involve participation in the management and organization of the UCC Hamburg.
Topic-specific networks
Care
Thanks to the discovery of molecular characteristics of tumor cells, such as the presence of surface receptors or changes (mutations) in signal transduction pathways within the cell, the treatment of tumor diseases can be more targeted and thus more effective and with fewer side effects.
Research into these targeted drugs is being conducted in large, often international, studies. However, since these molecular changes do not occur in all patients (usually only in a small percentage), we have founded the Network for Targeted Therapy in Hamburg in order to search for these changes in as many patients as possible and then offer them a corresponding study with targeted drugs within the network.
Network for Care, Quality, and Research in Oncology
The German Cancer Centers Association (ADT) is a network that works to improve care for cancer patients by connecting tumor centers and clinical cancer registries. Its main tasks include developing guidelines and data standards for cancer registries, analyzing data for quality assurance and improvement, and supporting research and networking between various stakeholders in the field of cancer medicine.
Cancer patients in Hamburg with a Turkish migrant background can now receive “treatment without barriers” in the newly created intercultural network for cancer therapy.
According to the State Statistical Office, one third of Hamburg's residents have a migrant background; most of them come from Turkey, which is why UCC Hamburg is launching its services for Turkish-speaking patients.
The goal is to provide comprehensive medical care without linguistic and cultural barriers. The treating specialists in oncology, surgery, urology, and radiation therapy are Turkish-speaking and can draw on the resources of the network as needed.An expansion of the intercultural services to include other languages is planned.
Research
The Hamburg Prostate Cancer Consortium (HPCC) is a collaborative network for prostate cancer research between the
The HPCC was founded in 2022 and emerged from previous collaborations with the Advanced Prostate Cancer Research Group (FFP) within the UKE network. It aims to serve as a central hub for joint translational research in this field.
The main goal of the HPCC is to create a shared and recognized platform for scientific interaction between partners in order to cultivate synergistic integration of preclinical and translational expertise within the network.
The European Liquid Biopsy Society (ELBS) collaborates with leading experts in the analysis of body fluids (especially blood) for circulating nucleic acids (ctDNA, RNA), tumor cells (CTCs), extracellular vesicles, proteins, metabolites, tumor-derived platelets, and other analytes. To this end, it collaborates with a wide range of academic and industrial partners.
The German Biobank Network (GBN) brings together academic biobanks in Germany that collect human biosamples and make them available for research. Together with scientists and IT and ethics experts, the GBN designs concepts and standards for next-generation biobanking.
The CHCR & PH (Center for Health Care Research and Public Health) was founded in 2006 as an institution of the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) and the University of Hamburg (UHH). The CHCR & PH brings together over 200 researchers from 27 institutes and clinics. The aim of the CHCR & PH is to support healthcare and public health research and to pool expertise within the organizations. The expansion into public health in 2022 will enable research projects to be carried out in both scientific disciplines.
Strategic Health Policy
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The European project “Joint Action EUnetCCC – A European Network of Comprehensive Cancer Centers” is the largest European initiative in the healthcare sector: 163 partners from 31 countries will work closely together over a period of four years – from October 2024 to September 2028 – to promote the Europe-wide networking of Comprehensive Cancer Centers (CCCs).
The aim is to expand cooperation between CCC locations in Europe in order to give at least 90% of oncology patients access to standardized, cutting-edge oncology care. In addition, mentoring programs, training courses, and educational programs for scientists and physicians are to be created or standardized, and exchanges, for example through research stays, are to be facilitated. EUnetCCC aims to achieve this goal by establishing at least 100 CCCs in Europe. The project is being funded with a total of €112 million.
The UCC Hamburg is participating in the project as an affiliated entity and is part of work package no. 8. Here, the focus is on the area of “Development and Implementation of Network Activities.”
Project Leader:
Contact for inquiries:
Further information:
The BMFTR's National Decade Against Cancer is an initiative that aims to significantly advance cancer research in Germany in order to prevent cancer as much as possible, improve chances of recovery, and enhance the quality of life of those affected. The content focuses on strengthening and networking cancer research, accelerating the implementation of research findings into healthcare, improving prevention and early detection, and involving patients.
The UCC Hamburg is an explicit supporter of the Decade and participates in Strategy Group 2, “Learning from Care”.
Vision Zero e.V. – together against cancer – is an initiative for a new approach to oncology. This association of many experts from various fields of oncology is strongly committed to reducing the number of preventable deaths to zero.
The Vision Zero e.V. website lists many activities and events dedicated to this topic.
Further information
Do you have any questions or would you like to make an appointment? Here you will find our contact details for UCC Hamburg.
MehrThe UCC Hamburg newsletter provides information about all of the network's events and the latest developments.
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