Benefit for patient and society

Our results will not only lead to a better treatment of patients, but also to avoidance of unnecessary treatment.

The use of new targeted therapeutic modalities will lead to a significant cost increase for the Dutch health care system. However, several reports have shown that administration of targeted therapies based on genetic analysis of the patients’ tumor leads to a more rational use of these costly drugs by avoiding treatment of patients that will not benefit from these therapies. The selective use of targeted drugs by selection of those patients that benefit most will be required to make the new treatment of cancer affordable for the Dutch healthcare system.

We see this as our strongest contribution to society. In addition, we feel we also have an important task in education and communication, as detailed in the next paragraphs.

Mobile DNA-lab ‘Read the language of the tumor’
In the current high school curriculum, DNA is an important yet rather isolated topic that pupils often perceive as complex and highly abstract. In order to introduce modern DNA-research to schools and to make pupils acquainted with current genomics topics and their implications for society, the CGC has developed a mobile DNA-lab that is offered free of charge to all secondary schools (4-6 havo/vwo) in the Netherlands. The 4hr educational modules contain a 2hr practical lab taught at the schools by university students with up-to-date genomics equipment and techniques.

The pupils are given the role of DNA-researchers and are asked to compare DNA from cancer cells of a (fictive) patient with DNA of healthy cells. Based on their results, they have to advise the physician on the optimal treatment of this particular patient. The module was developed in collaboration with the Freudenthal Institute for Science Education of Utrecht University in line with the recommendations of the Committee Innovation Biology Education (‘Commissie Vernieuwing Biologie Onderwijs’) regarding the context-concept approach. Since its start in September 2005, the DNA-lab has reached over 40,000 secondary school students in het Netherlands.

Teachers can obtain additional information and register at www.dnalabs.nl

AllesoverDNA
The mobile DNA-lab is further supported by information on cancer and genomics on the website www.allesoverdna.nl (in Dutch). Here teachers and pupils can find teaching materials and tests to prepare for the school exam.