Cancer Research in Switzerland - Krebsliga Schweiz

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The funded research groups in brief
Ammann Roland A. et al. | International childhood
liver tumour consortium – research strategy for
treatment and evaluation of hepatoblastoma and
hepatocellular carcinoma
ICP OCS 02061-03-2007
Duration: 01.07.2007 – 30.06.2011
CHF 118,000.–
Malignant liver tumours in children are extremely rare.
Treatment results have improved considerably in the last
15 years. It has therefore become quite a challenge for
treating physicians to choose the correct approach in this
rapidly changing field. The Epithelial Liver Tumour Study
Group of the International Society of Paediatric Oncology
(SIOP) known as SIOPEL has contributed substantially
to progress through their programme of clinical studies
for treatment of childhood liver cancer. SIOPEL recently
joined forces with the US Children’s Oncology Group in a
project called CHIC (Childhood Hepatic Tumours International
Collaboration).
Since 1990 clinical trials to optimize the treatment of
hepatoblastoma and hepatocellular carcinoma have been
and are continuing to be launched. Both more rational
chemotherapy and improvements in surgical techniques
have led to the better results. In these very rare tumours
this was only possible by multidisciplinary international
cooperation. In the case of SIOPEL, over 100 centres from
32 countries have participated in SIOPEL trials and studies.
In the first two trials the concept of preoperative chemotherapy
was introduced and adapted according to two
groups with different prognosis. In the third trial it was
proven that for the group with the better overall prognosis
the chemotherapy can be reduced to a single agent,
thus reducing the potential for possible serious toxicity to
the kidneys and the heart function while achieving an excellent
long-term result. The next trial generation is now
focusing on optimizing an aggressive chemotherapy for
patients at high risk of relapse, and on reducing the hearing
impairment caused by single agent chemotherapy in
standard risk patients. In the context of surgery, liver
transplantation has taken on a greater role.
An Internet-based worldwide registry for these interventions
(Pediatric Liver Unresectable Tumour Observatory,
PLUTO) has been set up. Besides treatment optimization,
the group is further investigating molecular biological
characteristics and other scientific parameters to be able
to include these into better defined risk groups.
The coordination of all these activities is carried out by
Clinical Trials Unit at the Cancer Research UK in Birmingham,
England, and by the trial committees. The statistical
support is provided by the Coordinating Center of
the International Breast Cancer Study Group (IBCSG)
(R. Maibach). The Swiss Paediatric Oncology Group
(SPOG) conducts the trials in Switzerland. The laboratory
of the University Children’s Hospital Zurich (M. Grotzer)
collects the tissue samples for scientific investigation.
Project coordinator
PD Dr. Roland A. Ammann
Departement Hämatologie/Onkologie
Medizinische Universitäts-Kinderklinik
Inselspital
CH-3010 Bern
Phone + 41(0)31 632 93 72
Fax + 41(0)31 632 95 07
roland.ammann@insel.ch
In collaboration with:
– PD Dr. Michael Grotzer, Kinderspital Zürich,
Onkologie/Neuroonkologie, CH-8032 Zürich
– Dr. Rudolf Maibach, International Breast Cancer Study
Group (IBCSG), Coordinating Center, CH-3008 Bern
– Dr. Jack Plaschkes, Inselspital, University Children’s
Hospital, Dept. of Pediatric Surgery, CH-3010 Bern
– Prof. Dr. Arthur Zimmermann, Universität Bern,
Institut für Pathologie, CH-3010 Bern
Franceschi Silvia et al. | Risk of cancer in persons
infected with HIV
ICP OCS 01355-03-2003
Duration: 01.01.2004 – 1.1.2009
CHF 500,000.–
Persons infected with HIV (PHIV) are at particular risk for
many infection-related cancers due to the negative effect
of immunosuppression on the outcome of co-infection
with carcinogenic viruses.
Objectives
This collaborative project of the International Agency for
Research on Cancer (IARC), the Swiss HIV Cohort Study
(SHCS) and Swiss cantonal cancer registries (CRs) was
initiated with the broad aim to improve knowledge on
the causes and strength of the risk of cancer in PHIV in
Switzerland.
Methods
The SHCS is a collaboration of seven centres throughout
Switzerland that has enrolled over 15,000 PHIV since
1988. Over the same time period, CRs in six of these
seven regions have been recording comprehensive quality-checked
epidemiological data on cancer incidence.
First in 2003, and again in 2007, patient records were
linked between the SHCS and CRs, using specifically developed
software to ensure confidentiality and resulting in
an anonymous dataset of cancer diagnoses and mortality
in the SHCS. Cancers identified through linkage were
used to estimate incidence rates in the SHCS and to compare
them with expected numbers of cancers from the
general CR population.
Study Results
1. Quantification of excess cancer risk in the SHCS in comparison
to the general Swiss population (Clifford, Journal
of the National Cancer Institute 2005; Franceschi, British
Journal of Cancer 2010): In addition to the AIDS-defining
cancers Kaposi sarcoma (KS), non-Hodgkin lymphoma
(NHL) and cervical cancer, significantly elevated risks