Project title: Understanding cancer development in BRCA ½ mutation carriers for improved Early detection and Risk Control - BRCA-ERC

Project start date: September 1, 2017 (VFN involved from November 1, 2020)
Project completion date: 31. 5. 2023
Project Budget: A total of EUR 2,497,841, of which EUR 80,000 for the VFN
Project guarantor: Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, prof. MUDr. David Cibula, CSc.
Project Registration Number: 742432 - BRCA-ERC - ERC-2016-ADG

Project brief:

The project was supported by the EU Horizon 2020 program within the grants of the European Research Council, priority Excellent Science. This is an international research project in the field of cancer development in BRCA mutations, which includes:

• Analysis of hormonal and immunological mediators that may explain the higher risk of developing cancer in BRCAmut carriers (anti-Mullerian hormone, circulating estrogen and progestogen levels)
• Characteristics of epigenetic alterations in BRCAmut carriers and their influence by hormonal and immunological mediators
• Testing the hypothesis that epigenetic changes involved in carcinogenesis may be reversibly affected by hormonal and immunological mediators (mifepristone exposure).

If the hypotheses are confirmed, the results will initiate a number of new research projects in the field of influencing congenital and acquired genetic alterations, which predispose to a higher risk of malignant disease.

The project was launched in 2017, its original coordinator was University College London (UCL), in 2020 the coordination of the project moved to the University of Innsbruck and UCL remained one of the partners. Since November 2020, other partner institutions have been involved in the project - VFN and Karolinska Institutet (Stockholm, Sweden). The main researcher of the project is prof. Martin Widschwendter (formerly UCL, now University of Innsbruck). The project builds on previous international research grants supported by EU sources, in which our workplace participated under the heading of the 1st Faculty of Medicine, Charles University - EPIFEMCARE (7th EU Framework Program, implemented in 2012-2016) and FORECEE (Horizon 2020, implemented in 2015-2020).

More detailed information about the BRCA-ERC project: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/742432