This initiative aims to enhance cancer research and improve patient care by providing a robust infrastructure for clinical cancer research and translational research to support personalised patient care.
OncoLifeS aimt to:
The OncoLifeS infographic gives a visual representation of what we do.
OncoLifeS prospectively includes adult patients (aged > 18 years) diagnosed with cancer or genetically predisposed to cancer. Participation is voluntary, and patients are included only after providing written informed consent. To date, approximately 70% of approached patients have agreed to participate, resulting in over 5,500 patients diagnosed with cancer being prospectively included. Additionally, more than 10,000 patients have been included retrospectively, enriching the data available for cancer research.
OncoLifeS is integrated within a large academic hospital, ensuring structured data storage and management. This setup adheres to stringent legal and ethical standards. Historical databases, including retrospective inclusions, can also be integrated into OncoLifeS, provided they comply with these standards.
Other studies within the scope of the 1998 Medical Research Involving Human Subjects Act (WMO) can utilise OncoLifeS methods for data collection, storage, and biomaterial processing, given appropriate governance procedures and ethical approval.
Please visit the UMCG Research Data Catalogue for more detailed information on our data and samples.
OncoLifeS collects a wide range of clinical data from electronic medical records contributing to cancer research, including:
Clinical data collected from the electronic medical records
General patient information (e.g., gender, date of birth)
Clinical history (e.g., comorbidities)
Outcome of the Adult Comorbidity Evaluation 27 (ACE-27)
Clinical and pathological diagnosis (e.g., tumour type, radiological images)
Surgical treatment (type, date of surgery)
Radiotherapy (type, start date)
Systemic therapy (type, start date)
In addition, various questionnaires gather information on:
Family history
Lifestyle (e.g., smoking)
Social conditions (e.g., marital status)
Cancer quality of life (e.g., EORTC QLQ-C30)
Daily living activities (IADL-Q)
Frailty (e.g., G8 questionnaire)
Mental status (e.g., GDS-15, MMSE)
The biobank also includes an array of biomaterials such as serum, EDTA plasma, heparin plasma, whole blood, bone marrow, faeces, urine, tumour tissue, and healthy tissue.
The Science Committee of OncoLifeS comprises members from participating tumour working groups and oncology departments, supplemented by members from relevant support departments such as Pathology, Multidisciplinary Oncology Laboratory, Genetics, and a secretary. This committee advises on the approval of requests to use human tissue and associated clinical cancer data stored in the biobank.
Members of the Science Committee:
Researchers interested in using OncoLifeS data and biomaterials can submit their applications to the Science Committee's secretary. Applications are evaluated based on their alignment with OncoLifeS objectives and collaboration with relevant tumour boards.
OncoLifeS offers opportunities for smart and motivated researchers, including Bachelor's and Master's students with a medical or biomedical background. Researchers focus on developing research lines, collecting cancer data, and analysing big data. Positions and compensation are determined based on internship conditions and collective labour agreements.
Please contact Janny Nagel ([email protected]) for the full list of publications.
OncoLifeS significantly contributes to society by enhancing the care of cancer patients, a focal point of UMCG. Research into cancer development and the discovery of new treatments aligns with the centre's mission to cure patients and maintain their quality of life.
All patients with newly diagnosed cancer are invited to participate in OncoLifeS.
After informed consent has been obtained, several data will be recorded. These include tumour and patient characteristics, quality of life, social support, physical presentation, and functional, cognitive, psychological, and nutritional status. In addition, cancer biopsies will be taken and blood will be collected.
Found out more on: Information for patients about OncoLifeS (in Dutch)
External researchers who are interested can submit a research proposal to the coordinator of the OncoLifeS data-biobank. The template that can be used to submit the proposal can be provided upon request.
To mark the 10,000th inclusion, OncoLifeS organised a symposium at the UMCG on Monday 22 January 2024. It reflected on all the research done so far and looked ahead to the future. Inspiring speakers shared their insights. You can watch the symposium here.
University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG)
OncoLifeS
PO Box 30.001
9700 RB Groningen
The Netherlands
Visiting address
University Medical Center Groningen
OncoLifeS
Hanzeplein 1
9713 GZ Groningen
The Netherlands
More information website research department Medical Oncology
