Research strategy for Department of Oncology, Odense University Hospital, 2017-2020 Summary in English Research is a core task of the Department of Oncology with the aim of offering our patients the best treatment. Here we define treatment in its broadest sense, including the all the multidisciplinary contacts the patients will meet during their course of treatment in our department. Our research strategy has been modelled over the Research Strategy for the entire OUH to which we aim to adhere. Below is a brief summary of the research areas specific for the Department of Oncology. During the period 2017-2020, the Department of Oncology will prioritize 4 areas of research: 1. Involvement of patients and relatives: this area focuses partly on optimising communication and communicative skills and partly on organisational changes to improve a more coherent course of treatment. 2. Precision medicine: our goal is to be able to tailor cancer treatments to the genetic changes in each person’s cancer. We shall develop genetic tests to help decide which treatments a patient's tumour is most likely to respond to, sparing the patient from receiving treatments that are not likely to help. Tailored or targeted treatments are already implemented for some cancer patients but the area needs development and expansion. The Department of Oncology has the infrastructure to strengthen precision medicine through our Clinical Research Unit, with a current staff of 20 research nurses and 3 secretaries, running more than 50 clinical trials with the pharmaceutical industry as well as investigator-initiated trials. Many of these trials include testing of biomarkers of genetic changes in the tumour or the patient. Such testing is carried out in collaboration with the departments of Clinical Genetics and Clinical Pathology. We have an Experimental Unit responsible for administering and monitoring the cancer treatments, including measurements of vital signs, ECG, and blood tests, e.g. for pharmacokinetics. The extensive documentation needed is performed in collaboration with our Clinical Research Unit.
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