Wednesday, January 31, 2024, 3:10 p.m
Bonn – World Cancer Day on February 4th this year once again has the motto “Closing gaps in care”. Since its founding 50 years ago, German Cancer Aid has been committed to continually improving care for people with cancer. In view of the continued poor treatment options for pancreatic cancer, the non-profit organization is now setting up the ‘German Pancreatic Cancer Alliance (GPCA)’ funding priority program in order to improve the situation for those affected. It is providing 40 million euros for this.
“Over the last few decades, impressive progress has been made in the diagnosis and treatment of many cancers through basic oncological research and clinical cancer research,” says Gerd Nettekoven, Chairman of the Board of the German Cancer Aid. However, pancreatic cancer is an exception. “This type of cancer still has a very poor prognosis. Since the disease remains asymptomatic for a long time, the tumor is often only discovered when the disease is well advanced. “In addition, the cancer spreads quickly and aggressively in the body,” says Nettekoven.
Pancreatic cancer has the lowest survival rate of all cancers. Accounting for around four percent of all tumor diseases in Germany, pancreatic cancer is relatively rare, but is the fourth most common cause of cancer death in men and women.
In view of this situation, it is important to German Cancer Aid to advance the fight against pancreatic cancer strategically, substantially and sustainably. To this end, it is setting up the funding priority program ‘German Pancreatic Cancer Alliance’ – ‘German Pancreatic Cancer Alliance (GPCA)’ in order to gradually build a powerful, internationally visible inter- and transdisciplinary research alliance.
“The funding program, which is endowed with high financial resources and is so far unique in terms of its size for the German Cancer Aid, is intended to enable innovative, visionary research into the prevention, early detection, diagnosis and treatment of pancreatic cancer beyond the mainstream,” says Professor Dr. Thomas Seufferlein, medical director of the Clinic for Internal Medicine at Ulm University Hospital, expert in pancreatic cancer and chairman of the advisory board of the German Cancer Aid, on whose initiative the new funding program is based. “In order to really improve the situation for those affected, we have to think about pancreatic cancer in a completely new and bigger way than before, develop new technologies, use synergies and also include disciplines outside of oncology.”
In the future, the program will bring together scientists from home and abroad to exchange research results. In addition, research strategies will be developed and implemented together in order to find answers to the previously unsolved questions about how to combat pancreatic cancer. The German Cancer Aid is providing 40 million euros for this program over the next five years. The call for proposals for the funding priority program will soon be published on the German Cancer Aid website and addressed to the scientific and medical community.
About the German Cancer Aid
The German Cancer Aid was founded on September 25, 1974 by Dr. Mildred Scheel founded. The goal of the non-profit organization is to combat cancer in all its manifestations. Under the motto “Help. Research. Inform.” The German Cancer Aid Foundation supports projects to improve prevention, early detection, diagnosis, therapy, medical aftercare and psychosocial care, including cancer self-help. Your tasks also extend to research and health policy activities. She is also a co-initiator of the National Cancer Plan and a partner of the “National Decade Against Cancer”. The German Cancer Aid is the largest private donor in the field of fighting cancer – including cancer research – in Germany. It finances all of its activities exclusively from donations and voluntary contributions from the population.
About World Cancer Day
World Cancer Day, held on February 4th every year since 2006, is a global initiative of the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC). The day aims to raise public awareness about the treatment, research and prevention of cancer. The campaign motto for World Cancer Day for the years 2022 to 2024 is “Close the care gap”, internationally “Close the care gap”. This year the campaign focuses on the urgent need to develop innovative strategies for a just and cancer-free world. More information at: World Cancer Day 2024 | UICC.