Submission deadline for EHMSG workshop 2023 is approaching on May 7

Find out more on www.ehmsg.org

The workshop will be held on September 7-9, 2023, in Antwerp, Belgium.

Institute researchers participate in the 47th scientific research conference for students

On March 10th, the 47th scientific research conference for students in the Pierīga region took place. As experts and reviewers in the computer science/informatics and mathematics sections, leading researchers from the Institute of Clinical and Preventive Medicine of the University of Latvia, Arnis Kiršners and Sergejs Paršutins, participated.

The interdisciplinary evaluation committee established by the National Centre for Education of the Republic of Latvia evaluated the works of the State ZPD conference in all fields of science (natural sciences, humanities and arts, engineering and technology, agriculture, forestry and veterinary sciences, medicine and health sciences, social sciences) by evaluating student posters and their subsequent discussions.

The state 47th conference on student scientific research work will take place on March 31, 2023, at the Riga Technical University. Student works that have received at least 100 points in the second round (regional conference) are nominated for the state ZPD conference.

The scientific research conference for student works is organized by the National Centre for Education of the Republic of Latvia within the framework of the ESF project "Implementation of National and International-scale events for the development of student talent", project number 8.3.2.1/16/I/002

For more information: https://ej.uz/zpdkonference2023

Changes are expected in the care of cancer patients in Latvia

The citizens of Latvia can expect improved cancer screening, more personalized medicine, improved access to targeted therapy, palliative care, and more opportunities for patients. In a special project funded by the European Union, after appropriate research, a series of solutions to problems in the care of cancer patients in Latvia have been found. On March 8-9, the international experts involved in the project presented their recommendations to those involved in the Latvian health sector. By implementing these recommendations, a decrease in the burden of cancer in Latvia is expected - better survival rates and a better quality of life.

Since the beginning of 2022, experts from the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC/WHO), the Organization of European Cancer Institutes (OECI) and the Erasmus University Medical Center (EMC) have visited Latvia several times to exhibit action plans, strategic guides and practical guidance on how to improve the effectiveness of various elements of cancer care. The European Commission has defined the fight against cancer as its main priority in the field of health. Improvements in the field of cancer have also been set as a priority by the Ministry of Health of Latvia.

The project "Improving cancer care coordination and screening in Latvia and Slovakia" in Latvia was initiated and coordinated by the Institute of Clinical and Preventive Medicine of the University of Latvia (UL ICPM). Based on the recommendation of the international experts involved in the project, a Steering Committee of the project was established. It is led by the Minister of Health of Latvia Līga Meņģelsone and consists of representatives of several participating ministries - Ministries of Health, Education and Science, Finance, Environmental Protection and Regional Development and their subordinate institutions, as well as representatives of patients and other institutions. Such multifaceted institutional involvement is necessary as all these parties are involved in improving cancer care processes.

The expertise of the project is divided into three equally important areas, in which the improvements must be implemented in an interconnected manner. First of all, it is necessary to introduce an effective population-based cancer registry in Latvia. With the help of this register, such data is calculated and analyzed that characterizes the burden of cancer and helps in making decisions for disease control - to set priorities, resource allocation and evaluate the progress of cancer patient care. In the creation and maintenance of the register, international standards must be followed, which allow obtaining indicators that are comparable at the international level. An essential prerequisite for a well-functioning cancer registry is the full involvement of medical institutions and professionals who need to enter these data, ensuring full data entry. “Without a cancer registry, it is impossible to improve processes related to cancer care - we simply do not know what needs to be improved. Therefore, the creation of a good register is the first and most important step for the implementation of all future recommendations," explains the co-chairman of the project in Latvia, director of UL ICPM, prof. Mārcis Leja.

Prof. Mārcis Leja

Photo by Toms Grīnbergs, University of Latvia Communication department

Secondly, it is necessary to improve the efficiency of cancer screening in Latvia. The involved international experts indicate that well-organized cancer screening is cost-effective. Also in this area, it is necessary to ensure systematic registration of screening quality parameters in accordance with international standards, moreover, in a database that would allow these data to be merged with those recorded in the cancer registry. "Thanks to the responsiveness of the Ministry of Health and its subordinate institutions - the Center for Disease Prevention and Control and the National Health Service - significant progress has already been made in the planning of such a data system. Our task now is to create such a registry and get it used by all participating organizations, then to achieve the minimum quality indicators that are a mandatory prerequisite for an organized cancer screening," comments prof. Mārcis Leja.

Thirdly, Latvia must take targeted steps towards the establishment of a Comprehensive Cancer Center and a Comprehensive Cancer Network, which would also be included in the relevant network of European Cancer Centers. Such a center would be an institution oriented towards comprehensive cooperation, where patients could receive not only the highest quality cancer treatment and care, but where the cancer research and education processes of all participating organizations - research institutes, universities, laboratories - would be concentrated. At the same time, the path of the Riga Eastern Clinical University Hospital to the establishment of an internationally accredited Cancer Center, which could eventually serve as the core of a Comprehensive Cancer Center, was started. The creation of a Comprehensive Cancer Network would mean that patients would receive equally high-quality cancer treatment not only at Riga Eastern Clinical University Hospital, but also in Liepāja, Daugavpils and other Latvian hospitals.

Dr Andre Carvalho

Photo by Toms Grīnbergs, University of Latvia Communication department

As one of the most significant challenges in the implementation of recommendations in Latvia, the experts involved indicate the currently low interoperability of organizations - related to the availability of health data at the clinical level. ”Latvia has skilled specialists. The implemented "green corridor" system, in which symptomatic patients receive access to treatment outside the waiting line, is a positive thing. To improve the efficiency of cancer care, it is very important to improve the data system and integrate all the elements of the developed recommendations. For project outcomes to be sustainable, the commitment of local stakeholders is important. We see that Latvia's policy makers and decision makers are ready to put our prepared recommendations into practice, and so we expect a positive impact moving forward,” comments the principal investigator of the project Dr Andre Carvalho (IARC/WHO).

In the course of the project, as the experts regularly communicate with Latvian health sector specialists, the practical implementation of the recommendations has already begun. The European Commission will continue to follow the progress of the implementation of the recommendations in Latvia.

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The project is supported by the European Union’s Technical Support Instrument (TSI) and implemented in cooperation with the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Structural Reform Support (DG REFORM).

The activity of the Ludza Research Center has begun

Photo: Training of employees at the Ludza Research Center.

On February 28, the GISTAR research center opened its doors in Ludza. Until March 2, training was conducted there for future GISTAR research center employees. GISTAR participants will be invited to participate in the "EUROHELICAN and TOGAS cohort dynamic control monitoring study of GISTAR study participants" within the research stage.

On March 1, the scientific director of the GISTAR project, director of the Institute of Clinical and Preventive Medicine Institute of the University of Latvia (IL ICPM), gastroenterologist, and professor at the University of Latvia, Mārcis Leja, gave a lecture on the possibilities of reducing mortality caused by stomach cancer and European perspectives on these issues in the Microsoft Teams environment. As lecturers, the new project scientist Sergejs Paršutins, senior expert at ICPM, GISTAR research administrative manager Aiga Rūdule, ICPM researchers Reinis Vangravs and Edgars Dauss participated in the training in person.

During the training, the new team was introduced to the research website, data usage and security rules, the GISTAR data management system, research protocol, the inclusion of study participants, and the acquisition of all standard procedures in practice.

On March 3, the inclusion of study participants in the dynamic control monitoring study of the cohort (EUROHELICAN and TOGAS projects) began at the Ludza research center.

The "Accelerating gastric cancer reduction in Europe through Helicobacter pylori eradication” project, or EUROHELICAN for short, is an EU-supported project under the EU4Health program. It will evaluate a population-based strategy for testing and eradicating the Helicobacter pylori bacteria. As a result of the project, world and European experts will develop guidelines for the introduction of gastric cancer screening and recommendations for evaluating its effectiveness. In Latvia, it is led by the Institute of Clinical and Preventive Medicine Institute of the University of Latvia in collaboration with the National Institute of Public Health of Slovenia (NIJZ), the International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organization (IARC/WHO, France), Nantes University Hospital (France), and the Community Healthcare Center Dr. Adolf Drolc Maribor (Slovenia). The project will continue until the end of April 2025.

More about the EUROHELICAN project - https://www.kpmi.lu.lv/lv-lv/petijumi-un-projekti/eurohelican

The project “Towards gastric cancer screening implementation in the European Union”, abbreviated as TOGAS, will begin in March 2023, with UL ICPM being the leading partner, collaborating with more than 20 institutions throughout Europe.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HADEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

Where authors are identified as personnel of the International Agency for Research on Cancer/World Health Organization, the authors alone are responsible for the views expressed in this article and they do not necessarily represent the decisions, policy or views of the International Agency for Research on Cancer/World Health Organization.

Experts will present recommendations for improving cancer care for patients in Latvia

Publicity photo: Simon Oberst (OECI) during a meeting in Latvia

For two days, on March 8 and 9, a conference at the premises of the University of Latvia will be held where international experts of a cancer care coordination and screening improvement project will present recommendations for improving cancer care for patients in Latvia to Latvian health sector specialists, politicians, public officials and patient advocate organisations.

"In a way, it will be a historic event," summarizes one of the chairmen of the project, director of the Institute of Clinical and Preventive Medicine of the University of Latvia (UL ICPM), Professor Mārcis Leja. After a thorough expertise on cancer care conducted in Latvia, representatives of the International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organization (IARC/WHO), the Organisation of European Cancer Institutes (OECI), and the ERASMUS University Medical Center (EMC) will present recommendations to create, improve and ensure equally high-quality and equally accessible cancer care for all patients in Latvia.

Anyone interested is invited to attend the public part of the conference on March 9, held at the Great Hall of the University of Latvia, 19 Raiņa Boulevard, Riga, at 9:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. To apply, interested parties are invited to register: ej.uz/konference_9_marts Each registered participant who will attend the conference in person will be receiving an electronic certificate of participation.

The expert report will be covering a very wide area. The expertise of the project is divided into three areas – cancer screening, cancer registration, and creation of comprehensive cancer centers and cancer care network. However, the report will also include recommendations, which, if implemented, would lead to a better progress in future, such as modern diagnostics, molecular councils and other related processes.

Publicity photo: Co-chairman of the project prof. Mārcis Leja

"It is of great importance that, in our opinion, the world's best experts with relevant experience, knowledge and opinion are involved in the working groups. In this case, it will be an opportunity to exchange opinions, not only with specialists and public officials, but also with representatives of society and patients who were not present during the project implementation process," emphasizes Mārcis Leja.

The principal investigator of the project, IARC/WHO scientist Andre Carvalho, Director of Quality and Accreditation – OECI Simon Oberst, Professor of the ERASMUS University Medical Center, an expert in cost-effectiveness modeling of cancer screening Iris Lansdorp-Vogelaar, as well as staff of the Directorate-General for Structural Reform Support (DG REFORM) of the European Commission supporting the project and the Commission Representation in Latvia will participate in the conference.

“The project is a unique partnership between IARC, European Commission’s DG REFORM and the ministries of health of Latvia and Slovakia to fulfil the Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan goal of ensuring access to quality assured well organized cancer screening to more than 90% of eligible European populations,” says Dr Andre Carvalho from IARC, principal investigator for the project.

Based on the advice of the international experts, a Project Steering Committee was established. The committee includes the representatives of the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education and Science, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development of the Republic of Latvia and their subordinate institutions, as well as representatives of patient advocates and other institutions. The steering committee is chaired by the Minister of Health of the Republic of Latvia Līga Meņģelsone.

The project's activities are set in accordance with the strategic policy documents of the European Commission 2021-2027: the Europe's Beating Cancer Plan (developed under the supervision of DG SANTE) and the recommendations of the EU Mission on Cancer (developed under the supervision of DG Research & Innovation).

Among the project priorities are such objectives of the Europe's Beating Cancer Plan as to optimize existing screening programs, to develop new approaches, to create comprehensive cancer centers that must be networked at the European level, to develop a comprehensive cancer infrastructure, and to create and develop a well-functioning cancer registry. The latter was determined a priority in Latvia in 2022.

The project "Improving cancer care coordination and screening in Latvia and Slovakia - ICCCS" implementation in Latvia was initiated by the UL ICPM and has been taking place since the beginning of 2022.  The project is co-led by the Director of UL ICPM, Professor Mārcis Leja and Smart Technology Adviser to the President of Latvia Rolands Lappuķe. The project management model was approved by the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Latvia.

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The project is supported by the European Union’s Technical Support Instrument (TSI) and implemented in cooperation with the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Structural Reform Support (DG REFORM).

A networking event for UL ICPM, GASTRO and RECUH specialists took place

UL ICPM director, prof. Mārcis Leja introducing the project implemented

GASTRO chairman of the boeard presenting their activities in research

On February 28, the Institute of Clinical and Preventive Medicine of the University of Latvia (UL ICPM) in cooperation with the Center for Digestive Diseases GASTRO and the specialists of Riga Eastern Clinical University Hospital (RECUH) organized an event to promote cooperation and research among medical workers. Specialists in the medical field met to share current events in various research projects, including the projects implemented by UL ICPM:

The result of the project "Patients-centered SurvivorShip care plan after Cancer treatments based on Big Data and Artificial Intelligence technologies" – PERSIST,

topicalities of the project “Accelerating gastric cancer reduction in Europe through Helicobacter pylori eradication” – EUROHELICAN,

and “Digital Health Literacy for the Hospital of the Future” – Pragma-TIC, supported by the EU programme ERASMUS+, with participation of the RECUH specialists,

as well as other project implemented by the institute.

UL ICPM researcher Dina Bēma presenting PERSIST project

The scientific manager of the PERSIST project, prof. Mārcis Leja and project researcher Dina Bēma shared the achieved project results, including details about the newly developed application for monitoring patients' physical activities and well-being.

Read more about the project and the results: https://projectpersist.com 

Presentation on the project results is available online: https://projectpersist.com/we-persist-the-future-is-in-our-hands/

This project has received funding from the European Union’s “Horizon 2020” research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 875406

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Today, on Ferbuary 28, a regional research center begins work in Ludza, as part of the project EUROHELICAN. Those patients who have already participated in the GISTAR study, conducted by UL ICPM since 2013, will be re-invited. The operation of the center will be ensured by two qualified nurses in specially separated rooms of the Ludza hospital. After the nurse training, GISTAR former patients will be invited to re-submit analyzes free of charge for their inclusion in the GISTAR database, as well as for determining the patient's health status.

Read more about the GISTAR study: www.gistar.eu

More information about the project EUROHELICAN is available: https://www.kpmi.lu.lv/en-gb/eurohelican

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HADEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

Where authors are identified as personnel of the International Agency for Research on Cancer/World Health Organization, the authors alone are responsible for the views expressed in this article and they do not necessarily represent the decisions, policy or views of the International Agency for Research on Cancer/World Health Organization.

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The Pragma-TIC project consortium is currently actively preparing for the start of the study - development of training programs and materials for improving patients' digital skills with the aim of accelerating their inclusion in the e-medicine system.

Find out more: https://pragma-tic.eu/projet/

The project Pragma-TIC "Digital Health Literacy for the Hospital of the Future” (grant No. 21PCA0019 / 2021-1-BE01-KA220-ADU-000033677) is funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union.

Research participants have been informed about the results of the PERSIST project

Publicity photo: UL ICPM researcher Dina Bēma presenting the projekt PERSIST results

On February 23, the project “Patients-centered SurvivorShip care plan after Cancer treatments based on Big Data and Artificial Intelligence technologies” - PERSIST study participants were informed about the study results.

The goal of the PERSIST project, which was supported by the European Union with 5 million euros of funding, was to improve the quality of life of patients after cancer treatment, offering the possibility for doctors to effectively monitor the patient's state of health. By combining the capabilities of big data and artificial intelligence, a new model of aftercare for cancer patients was developed using various technologies, including predictive models and apps. As a result, a new model of cancer care supported by various technological tools such as predictive models and web applications, among others, was created.

Based on artificial intelligence for the capture and standardisation of data for each patient, the system developed by PERSIST partners supports oncologists' decision making for the early detection of cancer recurrence. Project’s objective is based on supporting the best follow-up and intervention strategy, empowering patients to participate in their own care and promoting their emotional health in the fight against the fear of relapse and of not being detected early in primary care or in follow-up with their oncologist. As a result, technologically innovative solutions were presented that would help detect and predict the possible recurrence of the disease in patients who have suffered from colorectal or breast cancer.

During the meeting, the patients received information about the total data obtained from patients in the hospitals of all four member states - Belgium, Spain, Slovenia and Latvia (Riga East Clinical University Hospital). As an example, Belgian patients were mentioned, whose physical activity was on average lower than that of participants from other countries, while Latvian patients rated the experience of recording video diaries in the "mHealth" app developed in the project the lowest in surveys.

PERSIST is a European project that started in 2020. Gradiant has coordinated all the research in which 13 entities from 10 countries have participated: Sergas and Dedalus (Spain); Univerza Mariboru and Univerzitetni Klinicni Center Maribor (Slovenia); Haute Ecole Specialisée De Suisse (Switzerland); Latvijas Universitate (Latvia); Cyberethics Lab (Italy); Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Liège (Belgium); Symptoma (Austria); Rubynanomed (Portugal); National Patients' Organization (Bulgaria); and Emoda (Turkey).

In Latvia, the project was led by the director of UL ICPM, the head of the Science Department of Riga East Clinical University Hospital, prof. Mārcis Leja, with the participation of UL ICPM Biobank expert Ilona Aleksandraviča. Surgeons Krista Arcimoviča and Anna Marija Leščinska of the Oncosurgery Clinic of the Oncology Centre of Latvia, Riga East Clinical University Hospital worked with the patients. The project was coordinated by UL ICPM researcher Dina Bēma.

Read more on: https://projectpersist.com 

This project has received funding from the European Union’s “Horizon 2020” research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 875406

UL researchers and Gradiant offer an innovation against colon and breast cancer relapses

Publicity photo: Latvian representatives during the PERSIST meeting in Madrid

As a result of three years of research in Madrid, Spain, technologically innovative solutions have been presented that would help detect and predict the possible recurrence of the disease in patients who have suffered from colorectal and breast cancer.

In the recently concluded international project "Patients-centered SurvivorShip care plan after Cancer treatments based on Big Data and Artificial Intelligence technologies" - PERSIST, 166 patients and 32 health specialists were involved in four European hospitals - in Spain, Belgium, Slovenia and also in Latvia, with the Institute of Clinical and Preventive Medicine of the University of Latvia cooperating with the Riga East Clinical University Hospital. As a result, a new model of cancer care supported by various technological tools such as predictive models and web applications, among others, was created.

The recording of the presentation of the project results can be viewed online: https://projectpersist.com/we-persist-the-future-is-in-our-hands/

The goal of the PERSIST project, which was supported by the European Union with 5 million euros of funding, was to improve the quality of life of patients after cancer treatment, offering the possibility for doctors to effectively monitor the patient's state of health.

By combining the capabilities of big data and artificial intelligence, a new model of aftercare for cancer patients was developed using various technologies, including predictive models and apps. Based on artificial intelligence for the capture and standardisation of data for each patient, the system developed by PERSIST partners supports oncologists' decision making for the early detection of cancer recurrence. Project’s objective is based on supporting the best follow-up and intervention strategy, empowering patients to participate in their own care and promoting their emotional health in the fight against the fear of relapse and of not being detected early in primary care or in follow-up with their oncologist.

The project was led by the Spanish technology company "Gradiant", and 13 partners from 10 European countries participated in it. In Latvia, the project took place by cooperation between the Institute of Clinical and Preventive Medicine of the University of Latvia and the Oncology Clinic of the Riga East Clinical University Hospital.

As part of the project in Latvia, each of the 46 participants used a smart wristband and a smartphone with the newly developed "mHealth" app.

The devices helped doctors remotely monitor various indicators of patient's emotional and physical health. The system included data from each patient's medical history and real-time data, including metrics such as blood pressure, heart rate, and video recorded by the patient using a mobile application. The obtained data and the possibilities provided by artificial intelligence were used in the further development of the innovative health care support system.

"The PERSIST project has allowed us to have a better understanding of the implications of cancer survival, both for the survivors themselves and for the health system and its professionals. It has also demonstrated how technology can support care models that put the patient at the centre, empower them to actively participate in the process, and allow better monitoring and definition of a personalised clinical strategy for each cancer survivor," explained Alberto Sánchez, head of eHealth at Gradiant and coordinator of PERSIST.

In Latvia, the project was led by the director of UL ICPM, the head of the Science Department of Riga East Clinical University Hospital, prof. Mārcis Leja, with the participation of UL ICPM Biobank expert Ilona Aleksandraviča. Surgeons Krista Arcimoviča and Anna Marija Leščinska of the Oncosurgery Clinic of the Oncology Centre of Latvia, Riga East Clinical University Hospital worked with the patients. The project was coordinated by UL ICPM researcher Dina Bēma.

PERSIST is a European project that started in 2020. Gradiant has coordinated all the research in which 13 entities from 10 countries have participated: Sergas and Dedalus (Spain); Univerza Mariboru and Univerzitetni Klinicni Center Maribor (Slovenia); Haute Ecole Specialisée De Suisse (Switzerland); Latvijas Universitate (Latvia); Cyberethics Lab (Italy); Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Liège (Belgium); Symptoma (Austria); Rubynanomed (Portugal); National Patients' Organization (Bulgaria); and Emoda (Turkey).

Read more on: https://projectpersist.com 

This project has received funding from the European Union’s “Horizon 2020” research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 875406

An invitation to submit abstracts for the V World Congress of Latvian Scientists

 

Latvian and Latvian scientists studying or working abroad, PhD students and students are invited to submit their poster papers for presentation at the congress.

Applications can be submitted in Latvian and English or only in English until March 31, 2023 on the "Research Latvia" congress website www.zinatneskongress.lv

Application form https://www.zinatneskongress.lv/stenda-referati

The LUCIA consortium kickoff conference hosted in Haifa

Publicity group photo

At the beginning of February, kickoff conference for LUCIA took place in Israel, Haifa – an international consortium supported by the Horizon Europe Program and headed by the Israel Institute of Technology Technion. The two-day event was attended by sixty experts from all over Europe.

The consortium’s goal is to improve the management of lung cancer from the aspects of early diagnosis, prevention and treatment, notably of lung cancers that are relatively rare. The results of the consortium’s work will be translated into policy recommendations, which will be integrated into the early diagnosis program and into methods for addressing the disease effectively.

Every thirty seconds, someone, somewhere in the world, dies of lung cancer, making this disease the deadliest in terms of the number of lives it claims. The average 5-year survival rate is presently 17% for men and 24% for women. Although smoking is considered a significant risk factor for this disease, lung cancer often also occurs among nonsmokers. Accordingly, the consortium will work on identifying all risk factors and on developing new methods for the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of the disease.

“The LUCIA Consortium is being launched at the right time, with the right partners,” said the head coordinator, Prof. Hossam Haick at the opening of the conference. “We are fortunate to have many skilled, outstanding partners from a variety of fields, and we will be working together for the next four years, applying a multidisciplinary approach, to further the understanding of the disease and develop methods to prevent, diagnose and treat it more effectively. Our work will not focus exclusively on the medical aspects of lung cancer; rather, we will be assisted by experts on law and ethics and by decision makers to put our findings into effect for the benefit of society as a whole.”

The establishment of the consortium, headed by the Technion, was funded by the EU’s research and innovation program, Horizon Europe, which supports international collaborations expected to deliver practical technological solutions to modern-day challenges, and was awarded 14.6 million euros. LUCIA has 22 members – academic institutions and other entities – all working together to map risk factors for lung cancer while focusing on three aspects: individual risk factors, including lifestyle and exposure to pollutants; external factors, including urban or built-up areas, traffic, climate and socio-economic aspects; and biological reactions, including aging and genetic, epigenetic and metabolic changes. To this end, LUCIA’s experts are working on gaining an understanding of the molecular mechanism of the disease, the identification and analysis of relevant data repositories, and other areas. In Latvia, the project is implemented by the scientists of the UL Institute of Clinical and Preventive Medicine, under the scientific guidance of prof. Alvils Krams.

 

This project has received funding from the European Union’s research and innovation programme Horizon Europe under grant agreement No 101096473.

 

Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

The number of participants in the GISTAR study has reached 11 000

We are pleased to announce that the number of participants in the GISTAR study, implemented by UL ICPM, has reached 11 000, and currently the number of participants in the research center in Liepāja has just exceeded 630 people.

We kindly thank the participants who have already participated in our research, as well as welcome everyone who wants to participate in the GISTAR study in Liepāja. The GISTAR study is carried out for the early diagnosis of digestive diseases, where the population aged 40-64 has the opportunity to perform free examinations for diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.

As previously announced, so far the study, conducted in cooperation with the Liepāja Regional Hospital, proves that every fourth resident of the Liepāja region should carefully monitor the health of their digestive tract.

World Cancer Day: “Close the Care Gap”

Every year on February 4, the World Cancer Day, led by Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), is held. By raising worldwide awareness, improving education and catalysing personal, collective and government action, we are all working together to reimagine a world where millions of preventable cancer deaths are saved and access to life-saving cancer treatment and care is equitable for all - no matter who you are or where you live. 

While we live in a time of awe-inspiring advancements in cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment, many of us who seek cancer care hit barriers at every turn. Income, education, geographical location and discrimination based on ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability and lifestyle are just a few of the factors that can negatively affect care. 

This year's World Cancer Day's theme is “Close the Care Gap”. We celebrate progress in its many forms that enable more people to seek and receive the care they need and deserve.

We celebrate the awareness day together with our projects’ Persist partners noting that every person deserves to have an equal chance of quality healthcare and life.

The PERSIST H2020 project aims to improve the health outcomes and quality of life of breast and colorectal cancer survivors by developing innovative tools based on Big Data and advanced data analytics to support the decision-making of physicians. It will provide evidence base and tools that contribute to optimal follow-up and development of personalized survivorship care plans.

Read more on: https://projectpersist.com 

This project has received funding from the European Union’s “Horizon 2020” research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 875406

Every fourth resident of Liepāja should carefully monitor the health of their digestive tract

Publicity photo: Toms Grīnbergs, UL Communication department

The GISTAR study, conducted in Liepāja by the University of Latvia Institute of Clinical and Preventive Medicine (UL ICPM) and the Liepāja Regional Hospital proves that every fourth resident of the Liepāja region should carefully monitor the health of their digestive tract.

Of the 584 residents who have participated in the study so far, 119 have been diagnosed with H.pylori, a bacteria promoting development of stomach cancer. In such cases, research participants are prescribed eradication therapy for the mentioned bacteria. For those study participants who are found to have deviations from the norm in their blood or fecal samples, which has been the case in another 30 cases, additional examinations are prescribed - upper endoscopy or colonoscopy.

The statistics of cancer of the digestive system in Latvia, in Europe and throughout the world are increasing every year. Every fourth newly diagnosed cancer develops in the digestive tract. Gastrointestinal tumors are the third leading cause of cancer deaths. Colorectal (colon and rectal) cancer and stomach cancer are the most common tumors of the digestive system. About 1,100 people are diagnosed with colorectal cancer and 700 die from it in Latvia annually. Every year, 500 - 600 inhabitants of Latvia fall ill with stomach cancer, which, compared to the indicators of European Union countries, is one of the highest in relation to the number of inhabitants. Scientists involved in the GISTAR study remind that a  detection of malignant tumors allows for successful treatment, which also significantly increases the survival rate of the patients.

Also currently, the residents of Liepāja and the surrounding area between the ages of 40 and 64 are invited to check upon health of their digestive tract. Free health examinations are held in Liepāja, 23 Jūrmalas Street, every working day from 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. More information about the the tests is available on the research website www.gistar.eu, application by phone - 25679868

The project is funded by the ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) 1.1.1.1. project ‘Practical Studies’, 4th phase, project ID Nr. 1.1.1.1/20/A/035 ‘Hybrid-sensor breath analysis for colorectal cancer screening’. The project is co–financed by REACT-EU to mitigate the effects of the pandemic crisis.

International Health Data Innovation Council begins work

After a preliminary preparatory phase, on January 25, 2023, the activity of an international Health Data Innovation Council was launched in the format of a virtual meeting. The council is an informal organization that brings together medical and data specialists, as well as lawyers and ethics experts.

Latvia is represented in the Council by Rolands Lappuķe, Smart Technology Adviser to the President of Latvia, and Mārcis Leja, director of the University of Latvia Institute of Clinical and Preventive Medicine (UL ICPM).

At the meeting, problematic issues in the areas of data exchange and secondary use were brought up. The participants decided to summarize the issues that hinder the development of research in different EU countries. The need for a data pilot project was widely discussed, highlighting the GAIA-X project led by Latvia as a positive example.

A scientific paper on identifying potential volatile biomarkers of gastric cancer has been published

© Photo: Book publishing photo created by Racool_studio - www.freepik.com

A new scientific paper on identifying potential volatile biomarkers of gastric cancer has been published in ‘Diagnostics’:

Identification of Key Volatile Organic Compounds Released by Gastric Tissues as Potential Non-Invasive Biomarkers for Gastric Cancer

Conclusions are that pyridine is found to be the most promising biomarker candidate for detecting gastric cancer. The difference in the volatilomic signatures can be explained by cancer-related changes in the activity of certain enzymes, or pathways. The results of this study confirm that the chemical fingerprint formed by volatiles in gastric tissue is altered by gastric cancer.

The paper was prepared by Pawel Mochalski, along with Daria Ślefarska-Wolak representing Jan Kochanowski University of Kielce Institute of Chemistry, and University of Innsbruck Insitute of Breath Research, Mārcis Leja, representing Digestive Diseases Centre GASTRO and, along with Linda Mežmale, Institute of Clinical and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Latvia and Riga East University Hospital. The publication was also prepared by Veronika Patsko of National Cancer Institute of Ukraine, Clemens Ager and Chris A. Mayhew, representing University of Innsbruck Insitute of Breath Research, Agnieszka Królicka from AGH University of Science and Technology Faculty of Materials Science and Ceramics Department of Building Materials Technology, and Gidi Shani and Hossam Haick from Technicon—Israel Institute of Technology Russel Berrie Nanotechnology Institute Department of Chemical Engineering.

The article is openly accessible on ‘Diagnostics’: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4418/13/3/335

The international project AIDA will develop an AI diagnostic assistant to help detect lesions before gastric cancer

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On January 12- 13, in Valencia, Spain, an international, multicentre project to develop an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based diagnostic assistant to help researchers, doctors and patients understand, diagnose and treat chronic gastric inflammation, which often precedes gastric cancer started.

The project, called AIDA (An Artificially Intelligent Diagnostic Assistant for gastric inflammation), launched this January and held its kick-off meeting at INCLIVA, has a four-year duration and is supported by over 7 million euros between European and British funding.

The project is coordinated by INCLIVA Biomedical Research Institute. The project consortium comprises 15 centres of excellence from eight European countries, including the Latvian University Institute of Clinical and Preventive Medicine. The consortium brings together a multidisciplinary team including some of the leading European authorities on gastric inflammation and cancer (areas of epidemiology, immunology, oncology, pathology and gastroenterology), experts in bioinformatics, artificial intelligence and machine learning and in data governance and privacy, representatives of the public administration and patient advocates.

Gastric cancer is the fifth most common cancer type and the third leading cause of cancer death in the world in both sexes. It affects almost one million people, and to date no strategy has improved the prognosis of the disease. It causes 783,000 deaths a year, and the survival rate for patients at an advanced stage is only about 12 months.

Despite current multimodal treatments including surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy to improve loco-regional control and reduce the rate of tumour dissemination, progress is still limited, and more action is needed in primary and secondary prevention.

Most cases of gastric cancer are detected at late stage, so diagnosing those at risk of developing gastric cancer in the presymptomatic stage could significantly improve their prognosis. A wealth of data is available on the risk factors for developing gastric cancer. Individually, none are supported by robust evidence, but combining and correlating them will provide a much clearer picture.

AIDA: an assistant to guide strategies for gastric cancer prevention

The AIDA project goal is to create an AI-powered tool to help clinicians diagnose precancerous inflammation, provide personalized medical follow-up, recommend action to monitor patients’ health status, and select treatment. AIDA will pool together data from different sectors, including research and innovation centres, clinical partners, industry and patients, while adhering to European data protection law.

AIDA is one of 13 European projects to obtain funding through the Horizon Europe program in the HORIZON-HLTH-2022-STAYHLTH-02-01 call for proposals, having been selected from among the 72 proposals submitted within the health cluster. Horizon Europe is the largest research and innovation program in the European Union and carries out a thorough evaluation of all submitted proposals before granting funds.

 

Funded by the European Union (grant number 101095359) and supported by the UK Research and Innovation (grant number 10058099). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

The International Scientific Conference on Medicine accepts the abstracts until 22nd January

Following a request of participants, the 81st International Scientific Conference on Medicine will accept the abstarst up until 22nd January 2023.

The International Scientific Conference on Medicine is the largest section of the UL conference and will be held online on 24-25 March 2023. The event will cover a variety of disciplines in clinical and research medicine, pharmacy, nursing and public health.

Abstracts are welcome from both seasoned and young researchers (also students). In the spirit to foster international collaboration, participation is free of charge.

Find out more and submit the abstracts on: conferences.lu.lv/e/medicine2023

Warm Season's Greetings and a Happy New Year from the UL ICPM!

UL ICPM takes part in the networking event of the Riga Stradiņš University project

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On December 13, the deputy director of the UL ICPM Ilmārs Stonāns represented the institute in the university – industry brokerage event of the Riga Stradiņš University project “Consolidating the capacities of EATRIS-ERIC for Personalised Medicine (EATRIS-PLUS)” where the industry members got to know more on the opportunities to integrate research of personalized medicine. Within the framework of the event, I. Stonāns presented the institute's experience so far in cooperation with academic and industry partners, as well as outlined the opportunities for future cooperation. During the meeting, the growing role of the state in ensuring effective cooperation between academic and industrial partners in solving the tasks of personalized medicine was recognized.

The project aims to support the long-term sustainability (LTS) of EATRIS by delivering innovative scientific tools to the research community, strengthening the infrastructure’s financial model and reinforcing EATRIS leadership in the European Research Area (ERA), particularly in the field of Personalised Medicine (PM) research and development. The event gathered representatives of the EATRIS, the Scientific Director Dr. Toni Andreu, and Scientific & SME Outreach Manager Sara Zullino, as well as the representatives of RSU Institute of Microbiology and Virology, Latvian Alliance of Rare Diseases, Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis, Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre as well as RSU Institute of Oncology. The presentations were followed by a round-table discussion on how industry can integrate research of personalized medicine and visitations to the RSU Institute of Microbiology and Virology, RSU Institute for Occupational Safety and Environmental Health and RSU Laboratory of Hygiene and Occupational Diseases.

EATRIS-Plus will help pooling and exploiting the translational academic capacities of the infrastructure in omics technologies to enable researchers to better address the scientific and societal challenges of Personalised Medicine. A key output of the project will be the piloting and delivery of a multi-omic toolbox, that will include SOPs, guidelines for best practices, reference materials, quality parameters, analysis tools, criteria for establishing reference values, and will provide access to a repository of multi-omic data.  Additionally, the coordination office and 13 existing national nodes of the infrastructure will participate in implementing joint outreach, training, industry engagement and international collaboration activities to further build national capacity, increase users’ trust and strengthen EATRIS and the ERA global scientific leadership in the areas of translational research and Personalised Medicine.

The project is implemented by 19 European partnering organisations and is set to be concluded by the end of 2023. More about the project: https://www.rsu.lv/en/project/consolidating-capacities-eatris-eric-personalised-medicine-eatris-plus

A new scientific paper on serological biomarker diagnostic value of autoimmune gastritis has been published in ‘Diagnostics’

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A new scientific paper on serological biomarker (anti-parietal cell antibodies and anti-intrinsic factor antibodies) value in non invasive diagnostics of autoimmune gastritis has been published in the Open Access Journal from MDPI ‘Diagnostics’:

The diagnostic value of anti-parietal cell and intrinsic factor antibodies, pepsinogens, and gastrin-17 in corpus restricted atrophic gastritis

The study suggests that the best combination of non-invasive biomarkers for detecting autoimmune gastritis is the combination of pepsinogen I/II ratio and anti- parietal cell antibodies. Autoimmune gastritis is localized in corpus part and is linked to increased gastric cancer risk.

The authors of the publication are the Pauls Stradiņš Clinical University Hospital’s internist, immunologist Petra Kriķe, the article was prepared under the guidance of UL professor, gastroenterologist, UL ICPM director Mārcis Leja, among the authors are UL ICPM researchers Inese Poļaka, Daiga Šantare, Lilian Tzivian, as well as GASTRO representatives Ilze ķikuste, Ivars Tolmanis, Aigars Vanags, and Sergej Isajevs from the Academic Histology Laboratory, Inta Liepniece-Karele from the Rīga Stradiņš University Department of Pathology, Dace Rudzīte from Riga East Clinical University Hospital, together with employees of the National Cancer Institute (USA) Minkyo Song, M. Constanza Camargo and Gary L Norman and Zakera Shums from the USA laboratory diagnostics company ‘Werfen’.

The study was conducted using the material collected by the Digestive Diseases Center GASTRO and developed in cooperation with the Digestive Diseases Center GASTRO, Academic Histology Laboratory, laboratory examinations were performed with the support of the diagnostic companies ‘Werfen’ (USA) and ‘Biohit’ (Finland).

The article is openly accessible on ‘Diagnostics’: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4418/12/11/2784

PERSIST webinar on the technical solutions

Project PERSIST is announcing a public final technical webinar online on the 1st of December at 15.00 – 16:00 CET. The PERSIST H2020 consortium will represent its approach and solution to support cancer survivors and how AI and digital decision support system can contribute to more personalized and patient-centered care.

During the webinar the participants will be able to observe:

•          Demonstration of the mHelath app of PERSIST, including questionnaire, CTCs, diary recording functionality and extraction of signs of depression and symptoms from diaries;

•          Demonstration of the disease centric discourse functionality and alert system;

•          Value of the collected data and trajectories for the care plans;

•          Clinical Decision Support System, mClinician app.

The webinar will take place on MS Teams: https://bit.ly/3Xn7q23

In order to participate, we kindly ask you to register: https://forms.gle/HdJ8UHyhMPwgcpfR7

Read more on: https://projectpersist.com 

This project has received funding from the European Union’s “Horizon 2020” research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 875406

Kick-off meeting of the new European project EUROHELICAN

Publicity photo: EUROHELICAN working group meeting in Ljubljana, Slovenia

From november 17 to 18, in Ljubljana, Slovenia, the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) organized the “Kick-off” meeting of the new European project EUROHELICAN – Accelerating gastric cancer reduction in Europe through Helicobacter pylori eradication. The general objective of the EUROHELICAN project is to assess the feasibility of population-based Helicobacter pylori test- and treat strategy for gastric cancer prevention in Europe. In the EUROHELICAN project, co-financed by the European Union, beside the NIJZ, participate the University of Latvia Institute of Clinical and Preventive Medicine, Community Healthcare Center dr. Adolf Drolc Maribor, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of the World Health Organization, and Nantes University Hospital. The project will last from 1 November 2022 to 30 April 2025. 

Gastric cancer, with more than 1 million new cases and almost 800,000 deaths worldwide in 2020, is the fifth most frequently diagnosed cancer type and the fourth most common cause of cancer death worldwide. In Europe, gastric cancer is still an important public health issue, with the regions of Central and Eastern Europe having the highest gastric cancer incidence worldwide, second to Eastern Asia. In Europe, gastric cancer has a poor prognosis with 5-year relative survival rate between 19-30 %. Despite the recent therapeutic progress, the 5-year overall survival has not been significantly improved for the last decades in most of the European countries.

Infection with the Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) means a high risk of developing stomach cancer. Given its absolute burden and the significant prevalence of treatable H. pylori infection worldwide, the best way to reduce gastric cancer mortality is through preventive action. Therefore, pilot population testing and treatment of H. pylori is proposed as a strategy for the prevention of stomach cancer within the framework of the EUROHELICAN project, which would significantly prevent the loss of lives or the quality of life due to this malignant disease.

By treating the infection, we would prevent and eliminate other gastroenterological problems: stomach and duodenal ulcer, gastritis (inflammation of the stomach lining), dyspepsia (feeling of fullness, bloating, burning pain, fainting, nausea), iron deficiency anemia, MALT lymphoma, vitamin deficiency B12, autoimmune disease idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura.

The results from this project will aide policy makers incorporate the population-based H. pylori test- and treat strategy into their healthcare priorities for gastric cancer prevention while balancing its effectiveness, feasibility and acceptability with long-term potential adverse effects.

At the kickoff meeting, all project partners spoke constructively about the project's main goals, work packages, individual activities, and precisely determined the cooperation procedures for the successful implementation of the project.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HADEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

On 15th November, the University of Latvia Institute of Clinical and Preventive Medicine is celebrating the 6th anniversary!

We are sending the warmest greetings to the colleagues of the institute, the University of Latvia and our partners!

UL ICPM researchers start work on the project FAMILY, supported by the Horizon programme

On November 2- 4, researchers Signe Mežinska and Ivars Neiders of the UL ICPM represented the UL in the kick-off meeting of the FAMILY project. The meeting took place in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Within the five years of project implementation, the aim of the FAMILY Consortium is to improve the life of mentally-ill persons with novel prediction models that are based on better understanding the mechanisms of intergenerational transmission of mental illness and resilience. The project involves 16 partner institutions including the leading European neuroscience and genetics research centers.

Photo: from personal archive

The leading researcher of the UL ICPM Signe Mežinska will lead one of the project’s work packages which aims to analyze the ethical and social problems related to risk of inheriting mental illness and development of such risks’ prediction models. One of the project tasks is also to promote the public's understanding of mental illness inherited in family, as well as to communicate the results of the scientific research to patients, their families and mental health care professionals.

More information can be found on the project’s website: https://family-project.eu/

#HorizonEU #FAMILY_EU

This project has received funding from the Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No 101057529

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Executive Agency (REA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

The director of the UL ICPM participates in the conclusion of the worldwide scientific initiative in Venice

The final face-to-face meeting of the RE.GA.IN (Real-world Gastris Initiative) project takes place from November 7 to 10 in Venice, Italy.

The scientific initiative aims to gather the interdisciplinary knowledge on gastritis and gastritis-related gastric malignancies. From May to November 2022, 35 leading international experts in the field from all continents have been involved in this initiative, including the director of UL ICPM Mārcis Leja. In this period of time, the experts have had multiple meetings in virtual mode for the critical evaluation of the available scientific evidence and for the necessary insights. The meeting in Venice concludes the initiative by summarizing the conclusions of these meetings.

 

Photos: from personal archive. The organizer of the initiative, professor Massimo Rugge

The cancer epidemiologist Maria Constanza Camargo, representing the National Cancer Institute (USA), reported the role of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in the pathogenesis of gastritis and gastic cancer. The reserach has been developed with Candidate of Sciences, chemoterapist Evita Gašenko (Latvia).

Photos: from personal archive. NCI representative, cancer epidemiologist Maria Constanza Camargo

GISTAR study presented at an informative seminar to general practicioners

On October 28, an informative seminar was held for general practitioners in Liepāja and South Kurzeme. It was organized by the Environment, Health and Public Participation Department of the Liepāja City Municipality Administration.

As part of the event, the director of the UL ICPM, gastroenterologist and UL professor Mārcis Leja gave a lecture on different approaches to reducing stomach cancer mortality and the European perspective on these issues. In addition to these aspects, the professor informed the general practitioners about the GISTAR study, which is currently taking place in Liepāja, and invited them to get involved in its implementation by informing their patients about the opportunities to take part in the study.

Photos: from personal archive

Liepāja Sports Health Center's offer was presented by Artis Lagzdiņš, the manager of the LOC Olympic Centre. Anita Zolmane, head of the Kurzeme branch of the National Health Service, presented the current affairs of the NHS.

The project is funded by the ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) 1.1.1.1. project ‘Practical Studies’, 4th phase, project ID Nr. 1.1.1.1/20/A/035 ‘Hybrid-sensor breath analysis for colorectal cancer screening’.

VOGAS project partners share their thoughts on the main challenges

The aim of the VOGAS project has been to carry out the clinical approbation of the latest generation stationary breath analyzer for the early diagnosis of cancer and to clarify the sources of volatile markers. Using the latest generation stationary breath analyzer for determination of volatile markers, the project participants performed breath analyzes in clinical settings, evaluating the device’s usability and accuracy, as well as perfecting this non-invasive cancer detection method.

VOGAS partners share their thoughts on the main challenges faced during the last 3 years. From unforeseen challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic and the conflict in Ukraine to predicted risks as technical and logistical issues – the interviews are available on the project website www.vogas.eu

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 824986

Project PERSIST - a special event has been held and partners meet to discuss the progress of the final phase of the clinical trial

From October 19 to 23, the partners of the project PERSIST ("Patients-centered SurvivorShip care plan after Cancer treatments based on Big Data and Artificial Intelligence technologies") met in Maribor, Slovenia. The UL ICPM was represented by researcher Dina Bēma and assistant scientific manager of the project Linda Tupiņa. During the meeting, the partners shared their experience and knowledge and discussed the progress of the final phase of the clinical trial and the tasks to be performed.

On October 13, as part of Cancer Awareness Month, a special event took place in the European Parliament building in person and online - "PERSISTent to fight cancer, whatever I.T. takes”.

The event’s participants got to know more on the the impact of PERSIST for patients, medical specialists and caregivers, what specific types of data PERSIST collects with the help of mHealth and mClinician apps used in the project and how these can increase the Quality-of-Life of Cancer Survivors, and the Cancer Survivorship – AI for Well-being (CS_AIW) Cluster was also presented. After that, a panel on Reflections on the digitalization in Europe, in light of the Cancer awareness month took place.

The recording of the event is available online.

The project PERSIST aims to show the potential of big data technology for making fundamental changes in care delivery for cancer survivors through security of health data, Artificial intelligence and Big Data, improved health care and new scientific research. The study is international and its clinical part with the inclusion of patients in Latvia, Belgium, Slovenia and Spain.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s “Horizon 2020” research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 875406

 

As part of the project proposed by the UL ICPM, European experts are working on raising quality of cancer care in Latvia

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On October 17 and 18, representatives of the Organization of European Cancer Institutes (OECI) met at the Riga Eastern Clinical University Hospital to conduct an expertise and provide recommendations for Latvia's progress towards a comprehensive cancer center and a comprehensive cancer care network - that would facilitate equal access to healthcare for cancer patients in Latvia.

The meeting took place within the framework of the project "Improving cancer care coordination and screening in Latvia and Slovakia, ICCCS" that is financed by the European Commission's (EC) Technical Assistance Instrument (DG REFORM). In Latvia, the project implementation was initiated by UL ICPM.

As the project experts, representatives of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the Organization of European Cancer Institutes (OECI) and the ERASMUS University Medical Center (EMC) are involved.

Publicity photo

The project aims to contribute to the reduction of cancer mortality by improving cancer registration in the population, establishing and achieving the accreditation of a comprehensive cancer care and research infrastructure / networks, as well as improving breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screening programs thus providing equally high-quality and equally accessible cancer care for all patients throughout Latvia.

"In recent years, the fight against cancer has been a priority of the entire European Union, and this year, the Latvian government also approved the plan for the improvement of healthcare services in the field of oncology for 2022-2024. It foresees a series of improvements that will require national funding, and currently we have the highest level of experts to help us," the importance of the project is characterized by Mārcis Leja, the former expert of the European Commission’s Cancer Mission, Professor at the University of Latvia and the director of UL ICPM.

"Improving cancer registration in Latvia is one of the top priorities – as otherwise we cannot know what exact measures should be taken for further cancer care improvements. It also concerns the cancer screening. I am pleased that these matters can be dealt with the help from institutions with the highest of competence in monitoring and collecting data all over the world,” M. Leja adds.

Professor Simon Oberst and Professor Mef Nilbert attended the face-to-face visit, and other experts from OECI and IARC participated remotely.

On October 17, the experts met with representatives of the board and management of the Riga Eastern Clinical University Hospital discussing the current achievements and emphasizing the issues for further resolving. On the second day of the visit, several seminars with discussions were held - on molecular diagnosis of tumors, clinical research in oncology, radiation therapy, as well as on palliative and hospice care of oncological patients.

Publicity photo

Post-doctorate of the UL ICPM has taken part in mobility to Germany

Photo: from personal archive

From September 19 to October 15, the leading researcher at KPMI Manohar Prasad Bhandari took part in mobility at JLM Innovation GmbH (https://www.jlm-innovation.de/). His secondment at JLM Innovation GmbH was implemented within the framework of his postdoctoral research project "Study of relation between gastric microbiota and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) for the early detection of gastric cancer". First part of the mobility from September 19 to October 1 was carried out remotely. From October 2 to October 15, the researcher worked on site in Tübingen, Germany.

JLM Innovation is a research-based technology company that develops hardware and software for data acquisition as well as data analysis tools in the field of chemical gas sensors. It has been part of many international projects in the field of chemical sensing and electronic noses. The expertise of JLM Innovation with specialists from medical and biochemical fields have yielded important results and technology for the advancement of medical research. JLM Innovation has been cooperating with KPMI within different EU-funded projects including H2020 VOGAS project that aims at developing a non-invasive gastric cancer screening tool by detecting characteristic panels of VOCs. The postdoctoral project is in synergy with the VOGAS project and thus allowing a close cooperation with VOGAS partners including JLM Innovation.

During the mobility, the leading researcher gained knowledge in the data analysis techniques related to VOGAS hybrid eNose sensor readings under the supervision of experts Dr. Marta Padilla (research director at JLM) and Dr. Jan Mitrovics (CEO, JLM). The eNose instrument is being used for the collection and analysis of exhaled breath samples from gastric cancer patients in relation to WP3 “Impact of Helicobacter pylori on eNose readings” of the postdoctoral project.

Photo: from personal archive

Using the Python programming codes developed by JLM Innovation, the leading researcher learned the required steps of sensors data analysis, including pre-processing, filtering, down-sampling, and decreasing the correlation with environmental variables. The acquired knowledge of data analysis will be applied to analyse the eNose data obtained from WP3 of the project resulting in a research article. For this, the impact of H. pylori, dietary, and other confounding factors on eNose sensor readings will be considered. This also includes statistical data analysis in H. pylori positive and negative groups, taken that this is potent bacteria that change the overall environment of the stomach. 

Manohar Prasad Bhandari’s postdoctoral project goal is to investigate the effects of volatile compounds, microbial changes, and exhaled markers on gastric microbiome for an early diagnosis of gastric cancer.

Program "Growth and Jobs" 1.1.1. Specific support objective “Increase the research and innovation capacity of Latvian scientific institutions and the ability to attract external funding by investing in human resources and infrastructure” 1.1.1.2. ERDF project No. of the measure “Support for postdoctoral research” 1.1.1.2/VIAA/3/19/495 "Study of the relation between gastric microbiota and VOCs for the early detection of gastric cancer"

In Vienna, a meeting of the International Healthy Stomach Initiative took place

In the first half of October, after a break of several years, a meeting of the International Healthy Stomach Initiative took place in Vienna, Austria. The goal of this initiative, founded by international medical professionals, is to raise awareness of other health professionals and the wider public to stomach health and the prevention of related illnesses. More information about the International Healthy Stomach Initiative is available on its website http://www.hsinitiative.org/

During the meeting, the UL ICPM was represented by its director Mārcis Leja. Those present got to find out about the process of adopting the latest European guidelines, and representatives of Slovenia announced the signing of an agreement with the European Commission, that starts the implementation of a new project - EUROHELICAN. It aims to develop guidelines and recommendations to help create, improve and implement a population-based H.pylori screening and treatment program in Europe. Along with partners - National Institute of Public Health of Slovenia, International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC, France)and Nantes University Hospital Center (France) – the project will be implemented also by the University of Latvia Institute of Clinical and Preventive Medicine.

The project will be implemented with the support from the EU4Health propgram. 

Photo: from personal archive

Results of the HYCOR project were presented at the UEGWEEK 2022

From October 8 to 11, the senior laboratory technician of the HYCOR project and resident doctor Linda Anarkulova took part in the United European Gastroenterology Week 2022 – UEGWEEK 2022 in Vienna, Austria. For taking part in the event, she had received the UEG National Scholar Award. This award is given to the promising investigators at a junior level by awarding the highest scoring abstracts pre country.

At the congress, L. Anarkulova presented the poster presentation "Application of modular multi-sensor VOC analyzer for non-invasive detection of colorectal cancer" that is based in the project HYCOR results. The poster presentation was on the screening of colorectal cancer with a breath analysis, based on the detection of volatile organic compounds in the breath using a sensor breath analyzer. The aim of the study was to differentiate between colorectal cancer patients and individuals without cancer. Participants in these two groups – colorectal cancer patients and a control group - performed a breath test in a sensor breath analyzer. The obtained results showed that the sensor breath analyzer is able to distinguish between colorectal cancer patients and control group study participants. The study will be continued to build and evaluate more specific detection models in larger patient groups.

Photo: Linda Anarkulova. From personal archive.

The project is funded by the ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) 1.1.1.1. project ‘Practical Studies’, 4th phase, project ID Nr. 1.1.1.1/20/A/035 ‘Hybrid-sensor breath analysis for colorectal cancer screening’.

The final meeting of partners of the VOGAS project has taken place in Georgia

From September 27 to 30, the final consortium meeting of the VOGAS project took place in Georgia. The meeting gathered project partners from Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Uppsala (Sweden), Ulm (Germany), Innsbruck (Austria), Pamplona (Colombia) and Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (Chile) universities as well as representatives of San Ignacio University Hospital (University Hospital San Ignacio, Colombia), JLM Innovation (Germany), A.C. Camargo Cancer Center (Brazil), National Cancer Institute MPH of Ukraine, VTT Technical Research Center of Finland, the National Cancer Institute (USA), as well as the University of Latvia Institute of Clinical and Preventive Medicine.

In course of its implementation, the aim of the VOGAS project has been to carry out the clinical approbation of the latest generation stationary breath analyzer for the early diagnosis of cancer and to clarify the sources of volatile markers. Using the latest generation stationary breath analyzer for determination of volatile markers, the project participants performed breath analyzes in clinical settings, evaluating the device's usability and accuracy, as well as perfecting this non-invasive cancer detection method.

During the meeting, partners discussed the accomplishments during the course of the project implementation period, mainly focusing on operation of the equipment and its improvement and application possibilities, as well as the results of the clinical study and the discovered biomarkers. Several publications are currently being developed on the main results.

With this meeting, the VOGAS project has officially been concluded, however, the established cooperation continues. The partners met with the President of the Georgian Society of Clinical Oncology Rema Gvamichava and discussed possible cooperation in future projects involving the general public, clinics and organizations involved in cancer screening. Cooperation between other partners of the VOGAS project will also continue, implementing other Horizon Europe projects.

Photo: from personal archive

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 824986

On October 13, UL ICPM and PERSIST partners are inviting to a hybrid event

On October 13, 2022, UL ICPM and partners implementing the international innovation project PERSIST are inviting to a hybrid (online and in person) event ‘PERSISTent to fight cancer, whatever I.T. takes’.

The project PERSIST aims to show the potential of big data technology for making fundamental changes in care delivery for cancer survivors through security of health data, Artificial intelligence and Big Data, improved health care and new scientific research.

During the event, the project implementers will aim to assess the development of innovation in the health and care sector, in terms of research and technological advancement in the future, as well as exploitation of the new and innovative technologies and how they will be used in practice. The event will also raise awareness and improve the understanding among stakeholders on the key benefits from project PERSIST and other projects alike. Those present will get to know how the PERSIST mHealth app is applied and addresses people in need and tries to address the unmet medical needs, in context of digitalization. PERSIST implementors will encourage long-term commitment and engagement of policymakers and stakeholders on supporting and further developing projects as PERSIST and will highlight what are the concrete patient benefits and how PERSIST is making fundamental changes in care delivery for cancer survivors.

Working language of the event – English.

More information about the event ‘PERSISTent to fight cancer, whatever I.T. takes’ is available on the project page.

To register for participation in the hybrid event please fill out the registration form.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s “Horizon 2020” research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 875406

ICCCS project screening group experts have visited Latvia

From September 19 to 21, screening group experts of the project "Improving Cancer Care Coordination and Screening in Latvia and Slovakia” (ICCCS) visited Latvia to meet the involved parties – the Latvian Ministry of Health, hospitals’, institutes’ and other institutions’ representatives.

During the meetings, the project experts got to know the work of Latvian health specialists and the current practices in the field of cancer screening. In course of the project, the experts will prepare recommendations for improving the cancer screening processes. The project is by the European Commission's (EC) Technical Assistance Instrument (DG REFORM) and is in line with the European Commission’s Cancer Mission. It aims to contribute to the reduction of cancer mortality, improve cancer registration in the population, establish and achieve the accreditation of a comprehensive cancer care and research infrastructure / networks, as well as improve breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screening programs. The implementation of the project in Latvia takes place by the initiative of UL ICPM.

Photos: from personal archive. The ICCCS experts Nadya Dimitrova (International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)) and Iris Lansdorp – Vogelaar (Erasmus MC Rotterdam Department of Public Health) are meeting the representatives of the Latvian parties.

Meeting with the director of the Research and Health Statistics Department of The Centre for Disease Prevention and Control of Latvia Jana Lepiksone

Meeting with the Family Doctor Javgēnijs Bondins at the Family Practice Center „Alma”

Meeting with the representatives of the „Centrālā Laboratorija” („Central Laboratory”), member of the board Edvīns Kāzušs, head of the Department of Molecular Biology Marta Priedīte, and laboratory specialist Beatrise Orlova

Meeting with Pauls Stradiņš Clinical University Hospital’s Gastroenterologist Eduards Krustiņš

Meeting with Pauls Stradiņš Clinical University Hospital’s Breast Surgeon Arvīds Irmejs

Meeting with „Datamed” Member of the Board Normunds Ančupāns

Meeting with the Member of Board and the Chief physician of the Gastroenterology Clinic „Gastro” Ivars Tolmanis

Meeting with the Radiologist of the Riga East Clinical University Hospital Evija Asare

Meeting with the Head of the Riga East Clinical University Hospital Pathology Centre Aija Balode

The first face-to-face meeting of the project Pragma-TIC partners has been held in Riga

From September 19 to 20, the first meeting of the project Pragma-TIC partners has been held in University of Latvia, Riga. The project is implemented with the financial support of the Europan Union program Erasmus +, and its goal is to promote digital support for European hospital patients and their primary caregivers.

The project tasks envisage increasing the digital skills of health specialists and their patients, resulting in creation of a practically applicable e-learning platform prototype. In future, it would facilitate the work of medical workers as well as promote patients' independence and the ability to manage their healthcare remotely, if necessary. The said digital training prototype will be created through mutual cooperation between medical staff and patients.

The project is implemented by the University of Latvia Institute of Clinical and Preventive Medicine, the Central Hospital of Liège (the leading partner of the project) and the information and communication technology company "Inforef" in Belgium, the University Medical Center Maribor in Slovenia, as well as Centre for Digital Psychiatry
Mental Health Services in the Region of Southern Denmark.

During the meeting in Riga, the working group discussed the progress of the project implementation, the time schedule, research questions, mechanisms for attracting participants, the development of the communication plan, and the structure and usage of the project’s platform www.pragma-tic.eu

Further on, Pragma-TIC working group meetings will take place once a month online, and the next meeting in person is planned to be held next year in Slovenia.

Photos: from personal archive. Meeting of the Pragma-TIC working group in Riga.

The project Pragma-TIC "Digital Health Literacy for the Hospital of the Future” (grant No. 21PCA0019 / 2021-1-BE01-KA220-ADU-000033677) is funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union.

A poster presentation on the results of the HYCOR project, implemented by UL ICPM, is to be given at the UEGWEEK 2022

The poster presentation "Application of modular multi-sensor VOC analyzer for non-invasive detection of colorectal cancer", prepared by the resident doctor Linda Anarkulova - the senior laboratory technician of the HYCOR project -, has been approved for presentation at the congress at the United European Gastroenterology Week 2022, taking place from 2022 from October 8 to October 11, 2022 in Austria, Vienna. It can be visited both in person and remotely online. Please find out more information on the event’s website. 

L. Anarkulova's report is on the screening of colorectal cancer - one of the most common and deadliest tumors. In order to reduce the mortality caused by colorectal cancer, it is necessary to implement an effective screening method. Such a method could be breath analysis, which is based on the detection of volatile organic compounds in the breath using a sensor breath analyzer. The aim of the study was to differentiate between colorectal cancer patients and individuals without cancer, and included two study groups: colorectal cancer patients and a control group. Participants in these two groups performed a breath test in a sensor breath analyzer. The obtained results showed that the sensor breath analyzer is able to distinguish between colorectal cancer patients and control group study participants. 

The project is funded by the ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) 1.1.1.1. project "Practical Studies", 4th phase, project ID Nr. 1.1.1.1/20/A/035 "Hybrid-sensor breath analysis for colorectal cancer screening" 

UL ICPM is widely represented at the XXXV EHMSG Workshop

On September 8 - 10, the XXXVth Workshop of the European Helicobacter and Microbiota Study Group - EHMSG 2022 is taking place in Glasgow, Scotland.

Several representatives of the Institute of Clinical and Preventive Medicine are present to represent reports on their researches, and the abstaracts are published on the official journal of the EHMSG, "Micribiota in Health and Disease" (https://www.microbiotajournal.com/):

• D. Razuka – Ebela, I. Polaka, I. Ebela, I. Daugule, R. Herrero, M. Leja:

„Reflux Espohagitis associated with false negative cases in pepsinogen testing for precancerous gastric lesions”

 

• D. Slefarska-Wolak, R. Vangravs, M. Leja, L. Mezmale, G. Shani, C. Mayhew, H. Haick, P. Mochalski:

„The volatomic signature of Helicobacter pylori”

 

• J.M. Huguet, L. Ferrer-Barcelo, P. Suarez, B. Tepes, D. Bordin, M. Leja, G. Babayeva, F. Lerang, A. Tonkic, H. Simsek, L. Kunovsky, A. Gasbarrini, G. M. Buzas, P. Phull, M. Venerito, I. Puig, O.P. Nyssen, F. Megraud, C. O’Morain, J.P. Gisbert, on behalf of the HP-Eureg investigators:

„Role of complience in Helicobacter Pylori treatments: results from the European registry on H.pylori management (HP-Eureg)”

 

• L. Bujanda, O. Perez-Nyssen, J. Ramos, D.S. Bordyn, B. Tepes, A. Perez-Aisa, D. Vaira, M. Caldas, M. Castro-Fernandez, F. Leran, M. Leja, L. Rodrigo, T. Rokkas, L. Kupcinskas, J. Perez-Lasala, I. Puig, F. Megraud, C. O’Morain, J. Perez-Gisbert, on behalf of the HP-Eureg investigators:

„Effectiveness of treatments against Helicobacter Pylori according to clarithromycin: Data from the European registry on helicobacter pylori management (HP-Ereg)"

 

• L. Fernandez-Salazar, A. Perez-Aisa, D. Vaira, L. Jonaitis, B. Tepes, D. Bordin, A. Keco-Huerga, A. Lucendo, L. Vologzhanina, L. Bujanda, N. Brglez Jurecic, A. Lanas, M. Leja, G. Babayeva, T. Rokkas, I. Puig, O.P. Nyssen, F. Megraud, C. O’Morain, J.P. Gisbert, on behalf of the HP-Eureg investigators:

„Effectiveness and safety of high-dose dual therapy: Results of the European registry on the management of Helicobacter Pylori infection (HP-Eureg)”

 

• M. Zaharova, E. Zelca, D. Gudra, D. Fridmanis, I. Daugule:

„Changes in gut microbiota after antibacterial therapy among childre: Prelimenary data”

 

• O. Sjomina, R. Vangravs, A. Rudule, I. Polaka, S. Parsutins, D. Pupola, I. Stonans, M. Leja:

„The comparison of standard triple therapy effectiveness after addition of Saccharomyces boulardii”

 

• O.P. Nyssen, A. Perez-Aisa, D. Vaira, L. Jonaitis, B. Tepes, D. Bordin, A. Keco-Huerga, A. Lucendo, L. Vologzhanina, L. Bujanda, N. Brglez Jurecic, A. Lanas, M. Leja, G. Babayeva, F. Larang, L. Moreira, I. Puig, F. Megraud, C. O’Morain, J.P. Gisbert, on behalf of the HP-Eureg investigators:

„Epmirical first-line treatment use and effectiveness trends in Europe in the period 2013 – 2021: Results from the European registry on H.pylori management (HP-Eureg)”

 

• P. Jonaitis, J. Kupcinskas, A. Perez-Aisa, D, Vaira, B. Tepes, D. Bordin, L. Bujanda, M. Denkovski, A. Lanas, M. Leja, G. Babayeva, F. Lerang, A. Tonkic, O.P. Nyssen, L. Moreira, I. Puig, F. Megraud, C. O’Morain, J.P. Gisbert, L. Jonaitis, on behalf of the HP-Eureg investigators:

„Differences of Helicobacter Pylori diagnostics and treatment in the elderly and non-elderly populations: data from European registry on H.pylori management (HP-Eureg)”

 

• P. Jonaitis, J. Kupcinskas, A. Perez-Aisa, D. Vaira, B. Tepes, D. Bordin, L. Bujanda, M. Denkovski, A. Lanas, M. Leja, G. Babayeva, F. Lerang, A. Tonkic, O.P. Nyssen, L. Moreira, I. Puig, F. Megraud, C. O’Morain, J.P. Gisbert, L. Jonaitis, on behalf of the HP-Eureg investigators:

„Comparison of the effectiveness of Helicobacter Pylori eradication regiments between the eldrely and non-eldrely populations: data from the European registy of H.Pylori management (HP-Eureg)”

 

• S. Martinez – Domingues, E. Alfaro, P. Sarrera – Lasfuentes, A. Lanas, A. Perez – Ainsa, D. Vaira, L. Jonaitis, B. Tepes, D. Bordin, M. Castro – Fernandez, A. Lucendo, M. Leja, G. Babayeva, F. Lerang, L. Moreira, I. Puig, O.P. Nyssen, F. Megraud, C. O’Morain, J.P. Gisbert, on behalf of the HP-Eureg inverstigator:

„Mistakes in empirical eradication therapies for helicobacter pylori in 45,778 patients: Data from the European registry on H.Pylori management (HP-Eureg)”

 

Read more about the event on https://www.ehmsg.org/

© Photos: From personal archive. The president of the EHMSG 2022 is opening the event

With a meeting in Israel, the VOGAS project has entered the finalization stage

From 21st to 24th August, a face-to-face meeting of partners of the VOGAS ("Screening of Gastric Cancer via Breath volatile organic compounds by Hybrid Sensing Approach") project took place in Israel, Haifa.

While the meeting, the administrative manager of the project Liat Zuri and the leading expert of the University of Latvia Institute of Clinical and Preventive Medicine (UL ICPM) Iveta Eniņa discussed the preparation for the final stage of the project, including the final report preparation and audit, as well as discussed other administrative issues.

While the meeting with the scientific manager of the project Gidi Shani, the organization of the final meeting of the VOGAS project partners was discussed, as well as the potential cooperation in other projects, including the recently approved LUCIA project ("Understanding Lung Cancer related risk factors and their impact") – that is planned to be kick-started on 1st January, 2023, and is supported by the European Union program "Horizon Europe" sub-programme "Research and Innovation actions supporting the implementation of the Mission on Cancer".

The meeting took place at the headquarters of the VOGAS project leading administrative partner, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, where the representative of the UL ICPM also got to know the work of the Technion’s technical laboratories.

© Photo: From personal archive. The meeting of the project administrtaive managers of the UL ICPM and Technion (Israel) in Haifa (Israel)

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No  824986

The project A-PATCH has been finished

In June 2022, the A-PATCH project (Autonomous Patch for Real-Time Detection of Infectious Disease), supported by the European Union program "Horizon 2020" and implemented by the UL ICPM, ended.

For more insight, listen to the science podcast #CORDIScovery with project coordinator Hossam Haick explaining how such a patch could help in the fight against tuberculosis https://anchor.fm/cordiscovery/episodes/Fighting-the-spread-of-Tuberculosis-e1jub2h?fbclid=IwAR0CJcugBtvaQ6jfCbsqnlK8Z6hcxi4bqPX0JUhq7oqAYIGlXHjhZF6lEQI

Get to know the results achieved in the project on the A-PATCH website.

 

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 824270

As part of the GISTAR project, several patiens have started a H.pylori eradication therapy

Continuing the UL Institute of Clinical and Preventive Medicine project “Hybrid-sensor breath analysis for colorectal cancer screening - HYCOR”, in cooperation with Liepaja Regional Hospital, several patiens have started a H.pylori eradication therapy.

As part of the project, the H.pylori eradication therapy to the patiets is provided free of charge.

H.pylori is a helix-shaped bacteria accommodated to live in the acidic environment of the human stomach. It is responsible for the development of various gastric diseases including gastric cancer. Therefore, this is important to identify timely the individuals at increased risk.

The project is funded by the ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) 1.1.1.1. project ‘Practical Studies’, 4th phase, project ID Nr. 1.1.1.1/20/A/035 ‘Hybrid-sensor breath analysis for colorectal cancer screening’.

Prof. M. Leja gives a lecture on the use of breath volatile organic markers in symposium in Guatemala

"IX International Symposium on Helicobacter pylori Infection and Gastric Cancer" is taking place from July 20 to 22 at the Hotel Museo Casa Santo Domingo, Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala.

The conference is traditionally organized by the National Cancer Institute (USA) experts in collaboration to the representatives from Centralamerican and South American countries.

The meeting is bringing together specialists in the field from American countries as well as from Europe and other countries.

This year the establishment of Latin American H.pylori study group is discussed; collaboration to the European group is anticipated.

The Director of the Institute of Clinical and Preventive Medicine, Prof. Marcis Leja is presenting an overview on the use of breath volatile organic markers for gastric cancer detection.

© Photo: From personal archive. UL ICPM cooperation partner, prof. Alejandro Corvalan from Chile is opening the second day of the conference

© Photos: From personal archive

A paper originating from the GISTAR study on biomerkers for detecting gastric precancerous  lesions is published online

A paper on the relevance of blood biomarkers (including pepsinogen) for non-invasive diagnosis of gastric precancerous lesions has been published in DIAGNOSTICS

Assessment of Serum Pepsinogens with and without Co-Testing with Gastrin-17 in Gastric Cancer Risk Assessment—Results from the GISTAR Pilot Study

The study was carried out using the GISTAR material gained in the study GISTAR, run by UL ICPM in the regions of Latvia.  

The research was performed in close cooperation within an international consortium. The first author of the paper is Claudia Robles from Spain, other authorship include researchers from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (France) among the team from the UL ICPM.

The study was performed in cooperation with the Center for Digestive Diseases GASTRO and Academic Histology Laboratory. 

An insight into the coverage of the founding of AHMSG in the Nigerian mass media

On June 27 – 29, 2022, in Lagos, Nigeria, a formal founding conference of the African Helicobacter and Microbiota Study Group (AHMSG, as well as an expert meeting on the development of guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of Helicobacter pylori in the continent of Africa was held.

At the founding conference of AHMSG, representing the European Helicobacter and Microbiota Study Group (EHMSG, the director of UL ICPM, prof. Marcis Leja took part and gave a lecture on the experience of gastric cancer screening in Europe, emphasizing specific features on the African continent.

We offer an insight into publications in the Nigerian mass media!

NIMR to Host African Helicobacter and Microbiota Study Initiative, New Telegraph NG, 16.06.2022.

African scientists advance research on bacteria pathogen, Sun News Online, 04.07.2022.

Study group to improve Helicobacter diagnosis, treatment outcomes, New Telegraph NG, 07.07.2022.

Latvian policymakers and specialists have been introduced to a globally recognized methodology for cost-effectiveness modeling of cancer screening

By the initiative of UL ICPM, prof. Iris Lansdorp-Vogelaar (ERASMUS University Medical Center) presentation on cost-effectiveness modeling of cancer screening has been introduced.

Outlining that a well set and properly organized cancer screening can be and is cost-effective, specialists in the relevant field of the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Finance and their subordinate institutions, as well as specialists of cancer screening working groups, were addressed.

The lecturer is one of the world's leading experts in this field, and her methodology (MISCAN model (MIcrosimulation SCreening Analysis)) is being used in many countries all over Europe and the USA.

The MISCAN method is also used in the European project EU-TOPIA. The aim of the project is to provide national, regional and local policy makers with expertise and tools to evaluate and quantify their cancer screening programmes for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer.

During the presentation, prof. Iris Lansdorp-Vogelaar outlined the most important economic benefits of effective cancer screening, the prerequisites for ensuring effective cancer screening, and also presented the EU-TOPIA operating principles.

We invite everyone interested to watch the meeting with prof. Iris Lansdorp-Vogelaar and her presentation in video format:

Presentation on modelling for cancer screening by Iris Lansdorp-Vogelaar from LU KPMI on Vimeo.

The meeting took place within the framework of the project "Improving cancer care coordination and screening in Latvia and Slovakia, ICCCS" funded by the European Commission's (EC) Technical Assistance Instrument (DG REFORM), which was initiated by the University of Latvia Institute of Clinical and Preventive Medicine (UL ICPM).

UL ICPM representatives have taken part at the PERSIST partners meeting in Switzerland

From June 29 to June 30 in Sierre, Switzerland, representatives of UL ICPM, researcher Dina Bēma and assistant scientific manager of the project Linda Tupiņa, participated in the project PERSIST (Patients-centered SurvivorShip care plan after Cancer treatments based on Big Data and Artificial Intelligence technologies) face-to-face meeting and working group activities held at the Swiss Digital Center Techno-Pole.

During the meeting, the progress of the project so far was reviewed and the current activities planned for the next period were discussed, including the changes to be made in the tasks of the work packages. Also, during the exchange of experience and knowledge of the project partners, the functionality of the project's data input platform was discussed and evaluated, with the aim of improving the obtained results. New information was received about the implementation process of the technical solutions expected in the project.

The goal of the PERSIST project is to find ways to provide patients with individualized post-cancer care. After completing a course of cancer treatment, participants in the study received a smartwatch and a smartphone with a specially designed mHealth app that helps doctors keep track of their health.

The study is international and its clinical part with the inclusion of patients is not only taking place in Latvia, but also in Belgium, Slovenia and Spain. In Latvia, the UL ICPM is responsible for the conduct of the PERSIST clinical trial.

© Photos: From personal archive

This project has received funding from the European Union’s “Horizon 2020” research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 875406

With UL ICPM director, Prof. M. Leja, present, African Helicobacter and Microbiota Study Group has been founded

With European Helicobacter and Microbiota Study Group (EHMSG) experts present, from June 27 until June 29, 2022, a formal conference on the founding of the African Helicobacter and Microbiota Study Group (initiative) (AHMSG) as well as the expert meeting on the development of guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of Helicobacter pylori in Africa were held.

The EHMSG whos experience was used as the basis for estabilshing the AHMSG, was invited to be represented by two experts, including the UL ICPM director, Prof. Mārcis Leja.

Representatives of many African countries took part in the meeting, presenting their experience so far, and the differences between the involved countries. During the conference, M. Leja gave a lecture on gastric cancer screening, emphasizing topicalities in Europe, as well as paying attention to the specific features applicable in the African continent. The event attracted widespread media attention, including television, and was positioned as a historic event in African cooperation.

Similarly to the EHMSG, the African Helicobacter and Microbiota Study Group (initiative)is composed of experts from several countries on the African continent. Its mission is to develop guidelines for the treatment of Helicobacter pylori infections and to promote related research on the continent.

 

© Photos: From personal archive