Basic Research and Major Clinical Trials with Innovations for Individual Treatment of Colon- and Rectal Cancer Patients with a Multidisciplinary International Team: From Translational Research to National Guidelines | Chapter 5 | New Visions in Medicine and Medical Science Vol. 7

With the aim to improve standard treatments of patients with Colon Cancer (CC) and Rectal Cancer (CC), including own developments/tools of basic research transformed to clinical relevance, we formed a team of researchers out of clinical disciplines and basic research groups. The patients with their individual diseases and characters were the centers of our efforts – always aiming at best treatment quality and best quality of life. Rarely, scientific developments centered around the patient as a whole are published. Our multidisciplinary group, headed by gastrointestinal surgeons, applied this research philosophy considering the most important aspects of the diseases “colon- and rectal cancer” in the long-term developments. Good expert cooperation/knowledge at the Comprehensive Cancer Center Ulm (CCCU) were applied in several phase III trials for multimodal treatments of primary tumors (MMT) and metastatic diseases (involving nearly 2000 patients and 64 centers), for treatment individualization of MMT and of metastatic disease, for psycho- oncology/quality of life involving the patients’ wishes, and for disease prevention. Most of our research programs initially were heavily rejected/discussed in the scientific communities, but most of the results now have become standards in treatments and national guidelines or are topics in modern translational research protocols involving molecular biology for e.g., “patient centered individualized treatment” and “response prediction”, e.g. in “multimodal treatment” or “downstaging-resection of primary tumors or metastases”. Our research paths might be of interest for established researchers – but also for young colleagues who might start working in the fields described. Progress can be achieved with clear aims and in a motivated interdisciplinary team.

Author(s) Details:

Karl-Heinrich Link,
Asklepios Tumor Center (ATC) and Surgical Center, Asklepios Paulinen Klinik, Wiesbaden 65197, Germany, FOGT (Multidisciplinary Study Group on Oncology of Gastrointestinal Tumors), University of Ulm, Ulm 89081, Germany and Department of General and Visceral Surgery, University of Ulm, Ulm 89081, Germany.

Sakhavat Jafarov,
FOGT (Multidisciplinary Study Group on Oncology of Gastrointestinal Tumors), University of Ulm, Ulm 89081, Germany and Department of General and Visceral Surgery, University of Duesseldorf, Duesseldorf 40225, Germany.

Marko Kornmann,
FOGT (Multidisciplinary Study Group on Oncology of Gastrointestinal Tumors), University of Ulm, Ulm 89081, Germany and Department of General and Visceral Surgery, University of Ulm, Ulm 89081, Germany.

Ludger Staib,
FOGT (Multidisciplinary Study Group on Oncology of Gastrointestinal Tumors), University of Ulm, Ulm 89081, Germany and Department of General and Visceral Surgery, University of Ulm, Ulm 89081, Germany.

Ernst-Dietrich Kreuser,
FOGT (Multidisciplinary Study Group on Oncology of Gastrointestinal Tumors), University of Ulm, Ulm 89081, Germany.

Wilhelm Gaus,
FOGT (Multidisciplinary Study Group on Oncology of Gastrointestinal Tumors), University of Ulm, Ulm 89081, Germany and Department of Biometry and Medical Documentation, University of Ulm, Ulm 89081, Germany.

Erwin Röttinger,
FOGT (Multidisciplinary Study Group on Oncology of Gastrointestinal Tumors), University of Ulm, Ulm 89081, Germany and Department of Radiotherapy, University of Ulm, Ulm 89081, Germany.

Peter Suhr,
FOGT (Multidisciplinary Study Group on Oncology of Gastrointestinal Tumors), University of Ulm, Ulm 89081, Germany and Department of Radiotherapy, University of Ulm, Ulm 89081, Germany.

Catharina Maulbecker-Armstrong,
Fachbereich Gesundheit, Medizinisches Management, Sozialversicherungssysteme, Internationales Versorgungsmanagement, e-Health, Technische Hochschule Mittelhessen, Giessen 35390, Germany.

Peter Danenberg,
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, Keck-USC School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA 90033, United States.

Kathleen Danenberg,
Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Keck-USC School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA 90033, United States.

Miriam Schatz,
Private Practice for Psychology, Adelsdorf 91325, Germany.

Silvia Sander,
FOGT (Multidisciplinary Study Group on Oncology of Gastrointestinal Tumors), University of Ulm, Ulm 89081, Germany and Department of Biometry and Medical Documentation, University of Ulm, Ulm 89081, Germany.

Zhen-Ling Ji,
Department of General Surgery, Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, Jiangsu Province, China.

Jiang-Tao Li,
Department of Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310009, Zhejiang Province, China.

Shu-You Peng,
Department of Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310009, Zhejiang Province, China.

Reinhard Bittner,
FOGT (Multidisciplinary Study Group on Oncology of Gastrointestinal Tumors), University of Ulm, Ulm 89081, Germany and Surgical Clinic, Marienhospital, Stuttgart 70177, Germany.

Hans Günther Beger,
FOGT (Multidisciplinary Study Group on Oncology of Gastrointestinal Tumors), University of Ulm, Ulm 89081, Germany and Department of General and Visceral Surgery, University of Ulm, Ulm 89081, Germany.

Benno Traub,
FOGT (Multidisciplinary Study Group on Oncology of Gastrointestinal Tumors), University of Ulm, Ulm 89081, Germany and Department of General and Visceral Surgery, University of Ulm, Ulm 89081, Germany.

Please see the link here: https://stm.bookpi.org/NVMMS-V7/article/view/14222