OM 5C

THE REASONS BEHIND 5C

⇒ Tumors in the central nervous system make approx. 25% of all types of cancer in childhood. These illnesses have a high risk of permanent physical and mental disabilities, as well as a considerable risk of treatment failure and death.

⇒ Compared to other types of cancer, the diagnosis is often delayed, and the biological classification of brain tumors is challenging. Compared to blood cancer and many types of solid tumors, the treatment of brain tumors is more complex, because the protection of normal (and for children not fully developed) brain limits what type of treatment, that can be carried out.

⇒ Despite CNS tumors as a whole are frequent, all subtypes are rare, necessitating national and international collaboration to optimally diagnose and treat patients.Survival of children with CNS tumors has improved over the last decades but remains below the national average of childhood cancer survival rates. In addition, patients with CNS tumors are often affected by serious side effects - especially due to the CNS irradiation, significantly reducing their quality of life and learning ability, which affects the entire family.

WHO IS 5C

5C is a national consortium that aims to create a strong clinical and scientific platform to develop new strategies for diagnosing, treating and following up children with CNS tumors.

By integrating the interdisciplinary teams at Aarhus University Hospital, Rigshospitalet Odense University Hospital and Aalborg University Hospital, as well as our scientific partners in Denmark and internationally, 5C aims to strengthen seven areas of action.

7 focus areas:

Tumor etiology, includes examining whether variants in an individual patient's DNA affect the risk of developing a brain tumor or the response to treatment;
Earlier diagnostic by increasing awareness of the symptoms in the population and health care services;
Tumor biology, including securing tissue in a biobank;
Improved diagnostics, by among other things improved methods of brain scanning;
Better treatment by early introduction of new international treatment protocols;
The creation of multidisciplinary national video conferences for discussion of the individual patients;
Better habilitation, including national programs for neuropsychological examination and strategies for physical exercise, education and cognitive development and support.

The 5C program has established a family/patient panel to ensure that the problems, which burden the families are mapped out and addressed. 5C is also going to collaborate and be supported by an international advisory board (Sweden, Germany, and Canada) existing of leading experts within brain tumors in children.

COORDINATION

5C is coordinated by consulant René Mathiasen from Righospitalet's child oncology laboratory, Bonkolab, under the direction of Kjeld Schmiegelow, professor in childhood cancer and pediatric.

Advisory board

Prof. Klas Blomgren, Vice Head of the Department of Women’s and Children’s Health Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden. His research is focused on damage and repair in the developing brain and aims to minimize the effects of damage and promote repair mechanisms.

Prof. Eric Bouffet, Director, Brain Tumor Program, Haematology/Oncology, Sickkids, Toronto Canada. Research within the area of new treatments and clinical trials for children with brains tumors, treatment and genomic characterization of pediatric low-grade gliomas, clinical and genomic characterization of malignant pediatric brain tumors.

Prof. Stefan Pfister, Professor of Pediatrics, University Medical Center for Children and Adolescents Angelika Lautenschläger Children’s Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany. The research focusses on the genetic and epigenetic characterization of brain tumors in children by using next generation profiling methods and subsequently translating new findings into a clinical context.