The European Commission has earmarked €21 million for two new research projects on cancer, as part of an international research effort coordinated since 2007 by the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC), which aims to elucidate comprehensively the changes in the human genome - the organism's hereditary information including genes - present in many forms of cancer. Understanding these mutations is paramount for advancing prevention, early detection, monitoring and treatment of a disease which killed 7.5 million people worldwide in 2007.

With these two research projects, the EU will contribute to efforts worldwide to generate a catalogue of genomic mutations in tumours from 50 different cancer types or subtypes. This research approach will open the path to a more personalized medicine where the prescription for cancer treatment will be based on the genetic fingerprint of the tumour and the individual patient.

Collaborative EU-funded research will focus on breast and kidney cancer

The two new projects, BASIS and CAGEKID, are expected to receive €10.5 million each from the EU and to involve 27 research institutes from 10 countries throughout Europe and the USA. They will focus on unlocking the genetic code of breast cancer (the most common class of cancer diagnosed in women worldwide with more than one million cases diagnosed annually) and kidney cancer (of particular importance in Europe where the highest global incidence rates are observed).

Worldwide, more than 7.5 million people died of cancer and more than 12 million new cases of cancer were diagnosed in 2007

In the EU, cancer was the second most common cause of death in 2006, accounting for two out of ten deaths in women and three out of ten deaths in men. Due to the ageing population this figure is expected to rise further. The EU plans to cut cancer rates by 15% by 2020, according to the Communication on a European Partnership for Action Against Cancer issued by the European Commision in June 2009, and is attacking cancer on two fronts - by encouraging a healthy lifestyle and funding research into cancer treatments. Recently, EU has issued an European code against cancer.

TheInternational Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) was founded in 2007 to provide a forum for collaboration among the world's leading cancer and genomic researchers and help coordinate large-scale projects to understand the genomic changes involved in cancer.

Since 2002, EU's funding for cancer research has amounted to more than €660 million and a further €100 million is expected to be granted to cancer research projects in the months to come. More information on cancer research under the Seventh Framework Programme can be found at EU Research-health website.