Our consortium OUTLIVE-CRC combines scientific expertise from the fields of molecular oncology and cancer prevention from the University of Lübeck (UzL), the University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein Campus Lübeck (UKSH) and the German Cancer Research Center Heidelberg (DKFZ) that will be complemented by microfluidic engineering experts from the Hahn-Schickard Institute as well as by a start-up company specialized in digital therapeutics for nutritional medicine (Perfood GmbH).
Within the framework of the proposed OUTLIVE-CRC consortium, we will focus on tertiary prevention to improve prognosis and quality of life of CRC patients younger than 50 years. In a comprehensive approach, we will develop a multi-marker risk panel that will include multi-OMICS liquid biopsy data covering signatures associated with residual tumor cells, biological age and nutritional status. We will evaluate nutritional and socio-medical interventions on the quality of life and on signatures associated with risk of tumor relapse. Microfluidic automation will be applied to allow point-of-care application of the multi-marker panel to improve early detection of CRC in young patients. The project will be complemented by App development aiming to increase physical activity and social participation, health economic evaluation of interventions and engagement of patients in all steps of the project to create a comprehensive and innovative tool that will improve tertiary prevention of colorectal cancer in young patients.