Nationally and internationally, there is agreement that cancer patients’ palliative care needs through the disease trajectory should be investigated. ’Committee for Cross-Disciplinary Palliative Care Collaboration’ established by DMCG.dk has prepared a clinical guideline about palliative needs assessment. In the PRO Secretariat a national PRO for generalist palliative care has been developed. However, there is still significant uncertainty about the best approach to conduct the assessment. This creates a need for practical experience that connects clinical practice with the intended goals, while also identifying barriers and feasible solutions.

This network will build on the efforts of the Committee for Cross-Disciplinary Palliative Care Collaboration and the national PRO initiative, with the goal of enhancing palliative needs assessment.

The funding will support the establishment of a national network for testing exchange of experience and collecting data related to palliative needs assessment in oncology and cancer databases.

The aim is to develop concrete recommendations for implementation in oncology departments. The ambition is that the work within the network will contribute to developing national data on palliative care efforts across cancer diagnoses.

DCCC has funded 200,000 DKK to the project.

Read more about the network here.

The Danish Network for Clinical Adaptive Radiotherapy (DANKAS) is established to promote the development and implementation of adaptive radiotherapy (ART) nationwide, both offline and online.

ART adjusts radiotherapy plans during the treatment course based on changes in patient anatomy, enhancing precision and minimizing harm to healthy tissue. With new technologies used differently across Danish hospitals, there is a need for national collaboration on standardized guidelines and research initiatives.

The network will differentiate itself by spanning across the existing DMCGs, which traditionally focus on specific types of cancer. Since the same adaptive technologies can be applied across cancer diagnoses, DANKAS will function as a cross-diagnostic network that can develop national ART protocols without segmenting them by diagnosis. This will ensure a practical and efficient approach to ART, where standardised protocols can be widely used instead of developing diagnosis-specific solutions within each DMCG.

The support from DCCC will be used to establish the network, which will organise annual workshops and quarterly online meetings, where clinicians and researchers from across the country can coordinate, share knowledge, and develop national ART protocols.

DCCC has funded 200,000 DKK to the project.

Read more about the network here.

Women with metastatic breast cancer whose tumours have a mismatch between their genomic profile and immunohistochemical expression of the estrogen-receptor fare worse than patients with a match and can expect a diminished treatment efficacy with standard treatment.

This trial will investigate the optimal treatment for patients with a mismatch between their genomic profile and immunohistochemical subtype in 1st line metastatic breast cancer to potentially improve the outcomes for these patients The initiative will conduct a multicentre, open-label, randomised controlled trial. All oncological departments who treat patients with metastatic breast cancer can participate. The objective of this trial will be to evaluate the effect of trastuzumab-deruxtecan versus standard of care on progression-free survival (PFS).

The DCCC funding will be used to support key preparations for the study, including protocol development, submission to the European Medicines Agency (EMA), meetings with Scandinavian partners, and preparation of grant applications.

DCCC has funded 200,000 DKK to the project.

Read more about the project here.

There is social inequality in cancer – but patients who fare worse than expected are found in all social groups. Differentiated treatment based on a patient's vulnerability is suggested as a potential solution to reduce social inequality. However, the main challenge lies in identifying these vulnerable patients and determining the best way to support them.

The aim of IMPRESS is to develop and test a clinical tool that can assess the patient's physical and psychosocial resources to ensure a better treatment plan and support vulnerable cancer patients throughout their treatment. In a national clinical trial, this tool will be evaluated to determine if it provides less deviation from treatment plan, fewer hospitalisations and better quality of life for patients with cancer of the bladder, kidney and prostate.

The objective is to ensure that information on patients' vulnerabilities is systematically collected and applied both before and during treatment to help reduce social inequality in urological cancer care.

The funds from DCCC will be used for the development and preparation of the national clinical trial. A multidisciplinary workshop will bring together participants from urological and oncology departments, DMCGs, geriatricians, physiotherapists, and others. The workshop will focus on designing the tool’s content and format, establishing clinical workflows, and selecting relevant outcome measures. Additionally, the funds will support the development of the clinical protocol for the trial.

DCCC has funded 189,952 DKK to the project.

Read more about the projekt here. 

In Denmark, the implementation of home-based treatment for patients with haematological malignancies are well under way. However, we do not know the actual costs and we lack knowledge on the advantages and disadvantages for patients, relatives, and health professionals.

This initiative will investigate the most effective organization of home treatment for haematological cancer patients. A study will be conducted to gain a deeper understanding of the benefits and drawbacks of different home treatment models across the country. The research will focus on identifying organisational structures that offer the greatest economic and resource-related benefits, while also ensuring high quality of life and satisfaction for patients and their families.

The aim is to establish an evidence-based foundation for concrete recommendations on how to optimise and implement home treatment organisation and expansion at a national level. The findings are expected to inspire other similar home treatment programs in haematology, and the methodology may also be applied to assess other existing home care options.

The funding will be used for protocol development, establishing collaboration agreements, and coordinating data management. Additionally, the funds will facilitate cross-regional cooperation, essential for the study’s success. Some of the funding will be allocated to organising national, interdisciplinary project meetings, which will include patient representatives to ensure a comprehensive perspective.

DCCC has funded 200,000 DKK to the project.

Read more about the projekt here. 

In Denmark, prostate cancer is currently the most common cancer in men and the second most frequent cause of cancer related death with more than 1300 deaths per year. Prostate cancer becomes lethal when it spreads to other organs. Detecting prostate cancer at early stages is the best way to reduce the incidence of metastatic prostate cancer and mortality. Therefore, it is crucial to find methods for early detection of prostate cancer, which is the purpose of this initiative.

The initiative will establish a study to test a population based screening using prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and MRI. The aim is to investigate whether such a screening program can identify prostate cancer at an early stage, thereby reducing both disease progression and mortality. The study will also investigate whether screening could reduce overdiagnosis of less aggressive prostate cancer and ensure that only men who would benefit from treatment are diagnosed.

The funding from DCCC will enable the purchase of research resources to prepare the study protocol. Additionally, the funding will help build a national network through the organisation of protocol and project meetings and support applications for further funding.

DCCC has funded 200,000 DKK to the project.

Read more about the project here.

New data indicate that some teeth are unnecessarily removed before starting radiotherapy for head and neck cancer. This could potentially be avoided in the presence of more knowledge about mean radiotherapy doses to specific tooth localisations.

This initiative aims to improve the treatment of head and neck cancer by reducing unnecessary tooth extractions before radiotherapy. This will be achieved through the development of an odontogram that can estimate which teeth should be removed based on retrospective data of mean doses to specific tooth localisations for patients with different tumour localisations.

The planned study is prepared by carrying out two national workshops with OMF surgeons, oncologists and radiation physicists. The first workshop will focus on a calibrated use of the odontogram. At the second workshop, the experience with the odontogram must be evaluated on the basis of data collected between the two workshops and the prospective study is planned based on this evaluation.

The DCCC funding will be used to organise the workshops, ensuring that the future use of the odontogram is grounded in solid evidence, with consensus and calibration established among practitioners. The overall aim is to provide a more consistent and improved treatment approach for Danish head and neck cancer patients.

DCCC has funded 200,000 DKK to the project.

Read more about the project here.