TWINNING FOR A EUROPEAN CONSORTIUM OF RECTAL CANCER RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS THROUGH STEPPING UP SCIENTIFIC, TECHNOLOGICAL AND INNOVATION EXCELLENCE OF IORS

Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) is the gold standard in locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC), but the response is not uniform among patients and improvements are currently being assessed.

Profiling the response to CRT in patients with LARC would enable more adequate selection of patients who would benefit most from CRT while minimizing adverse effects and toxicity.

Patients with a favorable response to CRT might be candidates for a less invasive surgical approach or for enrollment in a ""watch and wait"" approach in the case of a complete clinical response (cCR). This would increase their quality of life and contribute to the overall reduction of treatment cost.

Identification of novel therapeutic targets might also benefit rectal cancer patients who do not respond well to neoadjuvant CRT.The main aim of the STEPUPIORS project is to establish a European consortium of research institutions dedicated to defining prognostic biomarkers in rectal cancer.

Specific project objectives that would enable addressing this unmet clinical need are: Objective 1: Determine the molecular profile of response to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer through a newly formed rectal cancer consortium with complementary expertiseObjective 2: Strengthen the research, management and administrative abilities of the Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia (IORS) located in Belgrade, Serbia along with the establishment of a rectal cancer biobankObjective 3: Establish a long-lasting knowledge, personnel, and sample exchange between participating institutions in the rectal cancer consortium.The STEPUPIORS project aligns with Europes beating cancer plan and the Horizon Europe strategic plan 2021-2024 within the health cluster, through setting up a research consortium that will enable improvement of rectal cancer prognosis, monitoring and treatment and lead to better health outcomes.