Universitaetsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE)

Team Leaders

Team Staff

Institute Presentation

UKE is one of the largest university medical centers in Germany with more than 14,000 employees. The Institute of Tumor Biology (ITB) is part of the University Cancer Center Hamburg (UCCH) awarded as excellence oncology center (“Onkologische Spitzenzentren”) in Germany. ITB was founded in 2002 to translate basic research into clinical applications and has established a strong network with the clinical departments treating cancer patients. Translational research conducted at ITB aims at a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying cancer development and progression, improved cancer diagnostics and treatment with a particular emphasis on immunotherapies and targeted therapies. In particular, research at ITB has contributed significantly to an improvement of cancer diagnostics of a variety of solid tumors including pancreatic cancer through the development of ‘liquid biopsy’ as a novel diagnostic concept introduced by K. Pantel and C. Alix-Panabieres in 2010. ITB has published hundreds of original research articles and reviews on circulating tumor cells, cell-free DNA, EVs and proteins. Furthermore, the European Liquid Biopsy Society (ELBS, www.elbs.eu) which is chaired by K. Pantel is hosted at the ITB. The ELBS collaborates with leading experts in the analysis of body fluids (in particular blood) for circulating nucleic acids (ctDNA, RNA), tumor cells (CTCs), extracellular vesicles, proteins, metabolites, tumor-educated platelets and other analytes.

UKE/ITB will coordinate the PANCAID project and contribute to the discovery of a novel liquid biopsy-based blood test for early detection of pancreatic cancer. In particular, ITB will focus on circulating tumor and host cells as well as circulating EMT-associated proteins and EV protein cargo, and contribute to the development of a novel blood test for early detection of pancreatic cancer in collaboration with the other PANCAID partners.

The Department of Health Economics and Health Services Research (IGV) is part of the Center for Psychosocial Medicine of the UKE. Around 30 researchers work in the department. IGV is also a member of the Center for Health Care Research (CHCR) of the UKE and part of the Hamburg Center for Health Economics (HCHE) of the University of Hamburg which is Germany’s largest health economic research center. IGV is involved in teaching and research in the fields of Health Economics and Health Services Research. During the last five years the department has published more than 400 papers in peer-reviewed journals. IGV has proven expertise in the fields of methodology and application of economic evaluation techniques and health care epidemiology.

The specific role of IGV in the PANCAID Project is the Lead of Work Package 4.

In particular, IGV will focus on disease modelling, model-based economic evaluation and budget impact analysis to inform policy decision-makers on the societal impact of early detection strategies for pancreatic cancer.