EUBREAST Network: Objectives and Goals
EUBREAST Network’s objective is to research less extensive approaches to breast cancer surgery in order to improve the quality of life of affected patients. The intent of this non-profit network of renowned oncological breast surgeons is to join forces throughout Europe to accelerate scientific progress to the direct benefit of breast cancer patients.
The current situation
In Europe, more than five hundred thousand patients are diagnosed with breast cancer every year. EUBREAST Network physicians are convinced that less invasive surgery is possible for many of these patients without augmenting the risk. Minimalizing surgery can help to reduce the physical and psychological burden after operation as well as to facilitate their return to an active lifestyle. However, research that is targeted at reducing the amount of required therapy doesn‘t readily attract financial support, because its results do not involve any direct economic profit for the sponsors. Therefore, EUBREAST welcomes supporters who share its European vision and the goal to increase the quality of life of patients diagnosed with breast cancer.
The main objectives of EUBREAST Network are:
- Conducting high-quality, cross-border studies across a large European network, thus being able to obtain results over a short period of time
- Prospective coordination of new study designs in order to systematically improve breast cancer surgery according to clinical need
- Avoiding unnecessary overlap and parallel structures of clinical trials
- Promoting cooperation between ongoing trials and provision of prospectively planned joint subgroup analyses
- Accelerating and achieving cost-effectiveness in clinical research
- Promoting communication amongst the European community of breast surgeons
- De-escalating breast cancer surgery to the direct benefit of patients.
The founders of EUBREAST Network strongly believe in the strength of cross-border clinical trials in Europe. Well-organized breast centers are readily available due to the long history of quality-assured interdisciplinary breast cancer care in Europe, resulting in high-level scientific research which has, to this point, been organized on a primarily national basis. However, cross-border cooperation between surgeons and their interdisciplinary partners is indispensable to ensure a rapid and effective progress in the treatment of breast cancer and for the well-being of the patients.
