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.

News

12 Jan 2018

annual CGC meeting 2018

All CGC.nl researchers are welcome, however registration is required.

28 Nov 2017

ERC grant for Michiel Vermeulen

Michiel Vermeulen, one of our CGC group leaders, was awarded a prestigious ERC-Consolidator Grant.

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17 Nov 2017

Fumagalli wins CGC poster prize

Arianna Fumagalli received the 2017 poster award during the CGC meeting New Horizons in Cancer Research

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Agenda

07 & 08 Nov 2019

Fundamental cancer biology

The annual joint conference of the CGC and Oncode Institute will cover different aspects of fundamental cancer biology. The organizing committee is putting together an exciting two-day programme, more information is available here.

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10 & 11 Jan 2019

CGC-Oncode annual scientific meeting

Annual meeting for the CGC and Oncode scientific community

08 & 09 Nov 2018

CGC-Oncode annual conference

Oncode and the Cancer Genomics Centre are pleased to host our annual joint scientific meeting at the KIT Royal Tropical Institute in Amsterdam. This year's topic is “From tissues to cells to molecules: multi-scale visualization of cancer processes”. More information is available here


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