PREMIO COLLAB

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in Europe, affecting nearly 400,000 people each year. An estimated 120,000 of these patients, will develop metastatic breast cancer. For these patients regular imaging is essential to evaluate treatment response and guide decisions about whether to continue or change treatment.

Traditionally, CT imaging has been the standard method for monitoring treatement response in patients with metastic breast cancer. However, FDG-PET/CT, which provides information about the metabolic activity of cancer cells, may offer a more accurate assessment of treatment response and potentially support better treatment decisions.

Despite its potential, FDG-PET/CT is not routinely used for monitoring MBC in many European countries. This is partly due to a lack of robust clinical evidence demonstrating its benefits for patients, as well as the need for standardised response criteria and efficient clinical workflows.

Aim

PREMIO COLLAB aims to improve treatment response monitoring for patients with metastatic breast cancer through clinical research, development of digital tools and AI-based technologies, and the involvement of patients and their families.

At the core of the project is MONITOR-RCT, a European multicentre randomised clinical trial comparing FDG-PET/CT with conventional CT for monitoring treatment response. The trial investigates whether FDG-PET/CT-based monitoring can improve overall survival and quality of life.

The project focuses on six specific objectives:

1. Generating a healthcare working environment for FDG-PET/CT-based monitoring.
2. Generating evidence of the benefits of FDG-PET/CT.
3. Supporting implementation at the national level in all European countries.
4. Improving current practice for using FDG-PET/CT in monitoring.
5. Incorporating patient and family perspectives in diagnostic pathways.
6. Shaping future technological improvements for monitoring.

Follow the project on its website.

Participants

The PREMIO COLLAB consortium consists of 16 partners from 7 European countries (Denmark, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Austria, Switzerland, and Scotland):

1. The Region of Southern Denmark, Odense University Hospital, Hospital Lillebælt, Esbjerg & Grindsted Hospital and Hospital Sønderjylland
2. The University of Southern Denmark
3. The Capital Region of Denmark, Rigshospitalet and Herlev Hospital 
4. The North Denmark Region, Aalborg University Hospital 
5. Aarhus University Hospital 
6. The University Hospital rechts der Isar, Munich
7. The University Hospital of Bologna IRCCS, Sant’Orsola Polyclinic Humanitas Research Hospital 
8. The Research Consortium for Medical Image Analysis (RECOMIA)
9. The University of Bologna 
10. The Tyrolean Private University 
11. Humanitas Mirasole SPA
12. The Geneva University Hospital 
13. The University of Strathclyde
14. Universiy of Münster 
15. The Institute of Candiolo
16. University Clinic Essen

The project is coordinated by the Region of Southern Denmark through the Odense University Hospital with construbutions from the Departments of Nuclear Medicine, Clinical Genetics, Oncology as well as the Department of Innovation, Research and Health Technology Assessment.

The consortium brings together partners with expertise across a wide range of disciplines, including clinical oncology, medical imaging, artificial intelligence, software development, genomics, epidemiology, health economics, health technology assessment, ethics, patient and family perspectives, and communication and dissemination.

This multidisciplinary collaboration combines clinical research, technological development and patient involvement to support more personalised monitoring of patients with metastatic breast cancer.

Funding

The project is funded by Horizon Europe under grant agreement no. 101136812 (European partners) and UK Research and Innovation (UK partner). This project is a part of the EU Cancer Mission.