Advancing clinical and translational research in germ cell tumours (GCT): recommendations from the Malignant Germ Cell International Consortium
Year: 2022
Type: review
Abstract: Germ cell tumours (GCTs) are a heterogeneous group of rare neoplasms that present in different anatomical sites and across a wide spectrum of patient ages from birth through to adulthood. Once these strata are applied, cohort numbers become modest, hindering inferences regarding management and therapeutic advances. Moreover, patients with GCTs are treated by different medical professionals including paediatric oncologists, neuro-oncologists, medical oncologists, neurosurgeons, gynaecological oncologists, surgeons, and urologists. Silos of care have thus formed, further hampering knowledge dissemination between specialists. Dedicated biobank specimen collection is therefore critical to foster continuous growth in our understanding of similarities and differences by age, gender, and site, particularly for rare cancers such as GCTs. Here, the Malignant Germ Cell International Consortium provides a framework to create a sustainable, global research infrastructure that facilitates acquisition of tissue and liquid biopsies together with matched clinical data sets that reflect the diversity of GCTs. Such an effort would create an invaluable repository of clinical and biological data which can underpin international collaborations that span professional boundaries, translate into clinical practice, and ultimately impact patient outcomes.
Source: British Journal of Cancer
Institutions: Children's National, Universidade do Porto, Instituto Português de Oncologia Francisco Gentil, IPO Porto, Centro de Investigação do Instituto Português de Oncologia do Porto Francisco Gentil, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Albel Salazar, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, University of Connecticut, Connecticut Children's Medical Center, The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine, UConn Health, University of Bradford, Cornell University, New York State College of Veterinary Medicine, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, University of Chicago, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, University of Southern California, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, University of California San Diego, Queen Mary University of London, Barts Cancer Institute, University of Cambridge
Language: English
Subfield: Surgery
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,480
Funder: St. Baldrick's Foundation
Award: G378725729
OpenAlex ID: W4305015502