A project launched in Athens last week brings together 28 partners from 12 countries, including 10 European Union member states, the United Kingdom, and Canada, aiming to close existing gaps in the approach to hereditary ovarian cancer by promoting advanced risk assessment and new early detection strategies, the IPO Lisboa announced in a statement.
The institution will receive 1.3 million euros for validating new tools for early detection of ovarian cancer, the deadliest of female cancers.
Portugal, alongside the United Kingdom, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, and Greece, will validate technologies that are “highly accurate and easy to use” for early ovarian cancer detection.
In Portugal, as well as in the Czech Republic, Greece, and Lithuania, routine risk assessment of the disease will also be conducted.
Coordinated by Greece’s Institute of Communication and Computer Systems, the project spans four years with an overall budget of 13.2 million euros supported by community funds.
According to IPO Lisboa, around 570 cases of ovarian cancer are diagnosed annually in Portugal, most in late stages.
“Despite medical advances, late detection and low survival rates remain obstacles to improving patient outcomes, resulting in increasing incidence and mortality levels,” the IPO Lisboa statement highlights.
The director of Medical Oncology at IPO Lisboa, Fátima Vaz, cited in the statement, emphasizes that the project, in which she is the clinical coordinator, supports essential goals like general access to genetic testing for hereditary ovarian cancer across Europe.
“Clinical evaluation of promising early detection methods for women at risk of ovarian cancer is vital,” she argues.
