UroCAN - LUCC

To goal of the network is to facilitate the collaboration between clinics, research, business and patient representatives to face current paradigm shifts with molecular diagnostics and new treatments. The aim of the center is to be a framework for biobank management and organization as well as enhancing excellence between individual research areas. Given the well-coordinated clinical operations, we have extraordinary conditions for clinical implementation; and thus further improvements in the healthcare. 

The individual research groups (bladder, prostate and kidney cancer) have different competencies: 

• Bladder Cancer Group: genomic profiling and bioinformatics (Fredrik Liedberg, Mattias Höglund); 
• Kidney Cancer Group: genomic profiling, regeneration and metabolism (Håkan Axelson); 
• Prostate Group: imaging diagnostics and translational projects including an extensive and well-developed clinical trial unit (Anders Bjartell; Yvonne Ceder).  

Having all variation of research efforts under one organizational unit brings excellent conditions for creating synergy effects, broadening the research field, and coordinating activities close to patients. This is mostly held within established collaboration with Skåne University Hospital (Urology Clinic) but also creates new collaborations with other players in the healthcare system, such as Skåne's oncology clinic, where many patients with urological cancer are also handled.

Bladder cancer is the third most common form of cancer in men in Sweden, but also occurs in women. The most common initial symptom is visible blood in the urine. Urinary tract bleeding is an alarm symptom that must be investigated, and at the Urology Clinic at Skåne University Hospital (SUS) you can call directly on the red phone (040331827) to undergo an investigation. Since 2017, advanced bladder cancer has been treated at one unit per region in Sweden (regional level structuring) and since 2013 the Urology Clinic at SUS and Helsingborg has been conducting all surgery for advanced bladder cancer in the Southern healthcare region. The cystectomy unit is the only unit in Sweden that routinely offers patients all types of urinary tract reconstruction after radical surgery, and also has an extensive development program for robot-assisted surgery. Watch a short movie about bladder cancer research on YouTube.

Kidney cancer affects about 1,000 people a year in Sweden. The most common treatment strategy for kidney cancer is surgical removal of part or all of the diseased kidney. Symptoms can be blood in the urine or pain in the side. Urinary tract bleeding is an alarm symptom that must be investigated, and at the Urology Clinic at Skåne University Hospital (SUS) you can call directly on the red phone (040331827) to undergo an investigation. Not infrequently, however, suspicious kidney tumors are discovered as a secondary finding during other examinations. The urological clinic in Malmö is also today a national leader in kidney cancer surgery, with a major focus on robot-assisted surgery but also in other alternative forms of surgical treatment. Within kidney cancer pathology, the diagnostic competence is very well developed and research is conducted to develop new biomarkers.

Each year, 10,000 Swedish men are diagnosed with prostate cancer, and it is the most common cancer-related cause of death among Swedish men. Prostate cancer is usually a slow-growing tumor that mainly affects older men and initially does not cause symptoms. While it is localized to the prostate, today there are effective treatment options such as robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy or radiation therapy, but in the case of a minimal tumor, one usually chooses to just observe and follow the patient until symptoms occur. In the case of advanced prostate cancer with spread to other parts of the body, such as lymph nodes and bones, there is currently only curative treatment, but great progress has been made in recent years and the survival time has been extended by several years with the help of new medicines. However, further extensive research is needed in this area.

More information can be found on the Swedish UroCAN LUCC website.