The EUnetCCC Precision Cancer Diagnostics Working Group hosted the first webinar in the open webinar series dedicated to the Harmonisation and Implementation of Molecular Tumour Board (MTB) Operations. 65 participants from across Europe joined the first webinar on 11 June 2025 to discuss key aspects of MTB operations and improve familiarity with recently published recommendations on MTB operations from the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) and the Can.Heal consortium.
EUnetCCC’s strategy to promote the implementation and harmonisation of MTB operations
Live Fagereng PhD presented opening remarks and introduced the EUnetCCC strategy for advancing precision cancer diagnostics in Europe. It focuses on four key objectives to enhance collaboration and equity across Comprehensive Cancer Centres (CCCs) in Europe.
Objective 1: Standardisation and Harmonisation: Conduct activities such as workshops and webinars to align diagnostics practices across CCCs, ensuring diagnostic consistency and accuracy.
Objective 2: Knowledge Sharing: Provide content to the collaborative platform of the EUnetCCC Portal developed by EUnetCCC to share advancements in diagnostic technologies, SOPs, methods, and logistics.
Objective 3: Educational Initiatives: Support training of CCC staff to enhance proficiency and patient representatives to enhance literacy in precision cancer diagnostics, incorporating insights from leading projects like PCM4EU and CanHeal.
Objective 4: Joint Diagnostic Projects: Initiate collaborative efforts to apply and assess precision diagnostics approaches in clinical settings, linking research to patient care improvements.
Bridging ESMO and Can.Heal Guidelines
Professor Giuseppe Curigliano MD PhD presented recommendations from ESMO’s Precision Oncology Working Group, emphasising a tiered approach (minimum, recommended, optimal) for MTB structure, patient referral, data collection, and outcome indicators. He highlighted the role of MTBs in providing actionable genomic interpretations, supporting clinical decisions, and fostering education through peer networks. "Harmonising efforts across Europe is crucial," he noted, advocating for collaboration to generate real-world data and improve patient outcomes, such as turnaround times ideally within one week.
Professor Patrizio Giacomini MD PhD presented recommendations from Can.Heal consortium, developed via a modified Delphi process across 47 institutions across 17 countries. These patient-centric recommendations prioritise real-world MTB implementation, including informed consent templates, treatment access via clinical trials, and monitoring metrics like treatment costs. A notable vision is a virtual pan-European MTB supported by GDPR-compliant IT platforms enhanced with AI for cross-border data sharing.
Alignment, Challenges, and Opportunities
Discussions moderated by Ana Bosch Campos MD PhD revealed strong convergence between the guidelines, including shared emphases on delivering actionable, realistic treatment recommendations from MTB discussions, capacity building of professionals and systematic follow-up mechanisms (minimum 6 months) with focus on metrics like progression-free survival. Both advocate for flexible frameworks to accommodate diverse resource levels to ensure that smaller centres are not excluded.
To promote broader implementation, it is crucial to harmonise data standards, develop a unified EU-wide digital infrastructure, and establish follow-up protocols to link recommendations with real-world outcomes.
Spotlight on the Knowledge Sharing Platform of the EUnetCCC Portal
Divya Tallapragada PhD presented a prototype for the Knowledge Sharing Platform for the EUnetCCC Portal which is current under development to serve the members of the European network of CCCs. Designed to outlast the Joint Action, it features modules for best practices (SOPs and templates), learning (e-learning and webinars), and community networking with role-based access. This platform will also centralise resources from initiatives like Can.Heal and ESMO, promoting harmonised practices across CCCs.
Looking Ahead
The webinar concluded with enthusiasm for ongoing collaboration, including ESMO's involvement in activities organised by the EUnetCCC Precision Cancer Diagnostics Working Group.
A follow-up webinar on advancing data collection from MTB operations is scheduled for 19 September 2025 from 14:00 – 16:00.
This webinar will address key questions from the first webinar:
- Can we agree on a unified set of variables to be collected by all MTBs in Europe?
- What should be the primary objective of such data collection?
- Can we establish a data collection protocol with common schedule of activities and standardisation, and can this enable data sharing across CCCs?
Are you curious about how CCCs should approach data collection or eager to discuss their role in Europe? Join us for this open webinar to contribute to the conversation!
Find more details here: https://eunetccc.eu/events/advancing-data-collection
Register here for the webinar: https://lnkd.in/dbD7FcjE
