The key to individualising treatment lies in finding a way to quickly “translate” the discoveries about cancer biology made by laboratory scientists into tools that physicians can use to help make decisions about the way to treat patients. This area of medicine that links basic laboratory work to the treatment of patients is called “translational” research.
TRANSBIG is an international network that was created to promote translational research and international collaboration in that area: it brings the best minds and resources together in order to reduce the wasteful duplication of efforts.
This consortium of 40 world-class institutions present in 21 countries is managed by the BIG Headquarters based in Brussels, Belgium. Each participating organisation brings with it expertise that ranges from being specialised in cutting-edge biomedical technologies and cancer treatment programs to lobbying governments on behalf of patient groups and supporting cancer societies.
As a network, TRANSBIG is dedicated to high-level collaboration that will contribute dramatically to advancing individualised treatment for breast cancer patients. Among its many strengths is the fact that it is linked to an already existing network of groups around the world that conduct clinical breast cancer research together – the Breast International Group (BIG) (see figure). In this way, the connection is guaranteed between what scientists learn in the laboratory and what physicians and patients decide together about treatments in the clinic. Although TRANSBIG will ultimately develop many projects, it started with a clinical trial called MINDACT (“MIcroarray for Node negative and 1 to 3 lymph node Disease may Avoid ChemoTherapy”).
Because the network also emphasizes education for scientists, physicians, patients, and patient advocates by working closely with cancer societies and patient groups, TRANSBIG brings a coherence and synergy to breast cancer research in Europe that did not exist previously.