We presented more effective treatment options at the Integrative Oncology Conference

The creation of a network of comprehensive cancer centres in Europe, including the first centre of this type in Slovakia, as well as new tools and procedures in cancer research. Representatives of the Biomedical Research Center of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, (BMC SAS lectured on these topics at the conference Integrative Oncology V, which took place on 4 February 2025 at the Centre of Scientific and Technical Information of the Slovak Republic in Bratislava. The conference was organized by the Cancer Research Foundation on the occasion of the World Cancer Day.

Dr. Soňa Čierniková from the Institute of Experimental Oncology BMC SAS and the National Cancer Institute presented the projects of the European Cancer Plan and Mission Cancer in Slovakia.

They include the creation of the first comprehensive cancer centre in Slovakia. So far, unlike the Czech Republic or Hungary, we do not have such a centre accredited, and we are thus in the minority in Europe.

“Comprehensive centres link cancer patient care with quality cancer research and education. This allows patients to access more effective and innovative treatments in clinical trials. Great emphasis is also placed on the work of multidisciplinary teams with a wide range of experts,” says Dr. Soňa Čierniková, who is responsible for the CCI4EU project on building oncology infrastructure on behalf of the BMC SAS.

We presented more effective treatment options at the Integrative Oncology Conference

As part of this project, a team of nine top international oncology experts led by Simon Oberst, Director of Quality and Accreditation at the Organisation of European Cancer Institutes (OECI), visited Slovakia for the first time last December. They are helping us to accredit a comprehensive cancer centre in Slovakia, build a comprehensive oncology infrastructure and define the patient pathway for the diagnosis and treatment of breast and colorectal cancer.

It is expected that Slovakia’s first comprehensive cancer centre could be accredited within two to three years. One hundred such centres across the European Union are to be linked through the same procedures and standards by 2028.

In another lecture at the conference, Dr. Verona Buociková from the Department of Molecular Oncology of the BMC SAS presented the use of avatars, i.e. biological models that represent human tumour cells, in oncological research and, within this, the use of organoids, which are a hope for personalised cancer treatment.

Dr. Ján Sedlák from the Institute of Experimental Oncology of the BMC SAS substituted Dr. Jana Jakubíková in her lecture on the comprehensive analysis of the tumor microenvironment by mass cytometry technology.

The Integrative Oncology Conference was held for the fourth time. It also discussed new trends in cancer treatment and how artificial intelligence can help.

Text: E. Rybárová, BMC SAS

Photo: E. Rybárová, archive of S. Ciernikova, BMC SAS

Members of a team of foreign oncology experts led by Simon Oberst (first from right) visiting the BMC SAS. Dr. Miroslav Chovanec (fifth from the left), Director of the Institute of Experimental Oncology of the BMC SAS, and Dr. Soňa Čierniková (third from the right), responsible for BMC SAS.