Establishment and exploitation of a european-latin american research consortium towards eradication of preventable gallbladder cancer
Gallbladder cancer (GBC) is a neglected disease with huge potential for prevention. This project aims at significantly improving the accuracy of risk estimation and early detection of GBC by identifying and adequately considering geographical, environmental, lifestyle, ethnic, gender and molecular differences. We plan to generate the information needed to establish and refine current prevention programmes, including the primary, secondary and tertiary prevention of GBC. We will (1) build a unique European–Latin American GBC biorepository integrated into a tailored IT platform, (2) identify, validate and functionally characterize novel GBC biomarkers, (3) develop a multifactorial risk score that integrates established and newly identified epidemiological and molecular risk factors, (4) improve the understanding of the causal mechanisms that link lifestyle, cultural and behavioural factors to GBC development, (5) unravel novel opportunities for the targeted therapy of incidental GBC, (6) exploit existing and newly generated epidemiological and multi-omics data to improve the accuracy of GBC risk prediction and (7) contribute to the training of the next generation of Latin American researchers in precision medicine for GBC. The generated information will permit identification of individuals at high GBC risk, guiding surveillance and individual decisions on the possible benefit of preventive gallbladder removal in regions of low and high GBC incidence. Novel data on genomic alterations in incidental GBC will pave the way towards implementation of future clinical trials. The planned European–Latin American GBC biorepository and IT platform will constitute a prime resource for translational research on individualized prevention, personalized early detection and targeted therapy of GBC. The participation in our project of representatives of health authorities, patients and the industry guarantees the efficient incorporation of project results into national health policies.