[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/9022\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EBlood cancer diagnosis: when mission impossible became possible\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe EU has an ambitious goal: under its \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/info\/publications\/conquering-cancer-mission-possible_en\u0022\u003EMission on Cancer\u003C\/a\u003E, \u201cBy 2030, more than 3 million lives saved, living longer and better\u201d. According to the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/gco.iarc.fr\/today\/online-analysis-table?v=2020\u0026amp;mode=population\u0026amp;mode_population=who\u0026amp;population=900\u0026amp;populations=900\u0026amp;key=asr\u0026amp;sex=0\u0026amp;cancer=33_36_35_34\u0026amp;type=2\u0026amp;statistic=1\u0026amp;prevalence=1\u0026amp;population_group=0\u0026amp;ages_group%5B%5D=0\u0026amp;ages_group%5B%5D=17\u0026amp;group_cancer=0\u0026amp;include_nmsc=1\u0026amp;include_nmsc_other=1\u0022\u003EWHO\u003C\/a\u003E, there were around 320,000 new cases of people with blood cancer in Europe in 2020.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EOnce deemed impossible, as well as exclusively expert based, standardisation of blood collection and processing for blood cancer diagnostics use is now considered imperative.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThis is the result of decades-long work carried out by three groups under an umbrella organisation formed in 2009, the European Scientific foundation for Laboratory Hemato Oncology (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/eslho.org\/\u0022\u003EESLHO\u003C\/a\u003E). In order of conception, they are EuroClonality (1996), EuroMRD (2001) and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/id\/18708\u0022\u003EEuroFlow \u003C\/a\u003E(2006).\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EBoth EuroClonality and EuroMRD worked on the DNA and genes of leukaemia cells.\u0026nbsp;EuroMRD coordinator, Professor Beat Sch\u00e4fer emphasised: \u2018Minimal residual disease (MRD), diseased cells left after a treatment, is now used to adapt therapy for a better patient outcome with reduced toxicity.\u2019 EuroFlow refined how we look at each individual cell and take crucial measurements important for disease diagnosis and classification, a process called flow cytometry.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EPooling their knowledge and resources, the three groups organised standardised lab methods to diagnose the three blood and bone marrow cancers: leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The core of our success is innovation and standardisation,\u2019 said Jacques J.M. Van Dongen, professor of medical immunology at the Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands. \u2018Wherever the patient is in the world, their diagnostic lab is using the same reagents and procedures as advised by EuroFlow.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EProfessor Van Dongen is certain about the reason for their success. \u2018This level of standardisation has not been achieved earlier with assays of such high complexity. All this could never have been achieved without EU funding and support.\u2019 \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMore labs, more patients, more data\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EAs EuroFlow methods spread globally, more labs and patients mean more data, and standardisation is crucial. Making sure diagnostic data is the same anywhere in the world is the most important factor for rapid and accurate diagnosis.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Analysing this data with big data software tools leads to further refinement and categorisation of the individual\u2019s disease status. This stratification of the patients ultimately means more personalised treatment,\u2019 noted Professor Van Dongen.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen many labs use flow cytometry to look at the physical characteristics of each cell, a host of variables can be introduced. But standardisation means every diagnostic centre is using the same criteria so this doesn\u2019t interfere with accuracy of diagnosis.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECounting cells at the speed of light\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EToday\u2019s labs can count and categorise blood cells at phenomenal speed for rapid diagnosis.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018There can be 10 million leucocytes, a type of white blood cell, in 2 ml of blood,\u2019 Professor Van Dongen explained. \u2018Using the most up-to-date flow cytometry instruments, we can measure 10 million cells in 6 to 8 minutes with a 1 in a 100,000 sensitivity. That is, 1 leukaemia cell can be distinguished individually in a population of 100,000 normal cells.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThis was not always the case. For instance, back in 1996 when Anton Langerak, now professor at Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, Netherlands, was just embarking on his postdoc in diagnostics for leukaemia and lymphoma under the EU programme \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/id\/BMH4983936\u0022\u003EBIOMED-2\u003C\/a\u003E. Now known as \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/euroclonality.org\/\u0022\u003EEuroClonality\u003C\/a\u003E, this programme was then focused on amplifying and multiplying small amounts of genetic material, DNA or RNA, using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), then only just discovered.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ELooking for specific molecules and genes is a huge advance on the early days, when leukaemias were characterised on the basis of chromosomes only. Looking at types of chromosomes gives a less accurate diagnosis as one chromosome can contain thousands of genes.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The added value of PCR for the patient could be confirmation of a new tumour, and this is essential for treatment determination. At the start of my research career, there was no standardised PCR test for lymphoma. Moreover, patients were faced with a long wait for results of the blood tests, around a month,\u2019 Professor Langerak recalled. Nowadays, they have their test results within a day.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EOn November 11 and 12, all three groups \u2013 EuroFlow, EuroClonality and EuroMRD \u2013 will meet in Leiden for the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/eslho.org\/symposium\u0022\u003E10th ESLHO Symposium\u003C\/a\u003E. For Professor Van Dongen, who chairs the ESLHO board, this year\u2019s symposium is of particular importance because it coincides with the 25th anniversary of the inception of three EU consortia.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-bg-bluelightest tw-p-12 tw-my-12 tw--mx-16\u0022\u003E\n \u003Ch3 class=\u0022tw-font-sans tw-font-bold tw-text-blue tw-uppercase tw-text-lg tw-mb-8\u0022\u003EThe Euroflow Consortium\u003C\/h3\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-inline-block tw-w-1\/6 tw-h-1 tw-bg-blue tw-mb-8\u0022\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EFormed in 2005, the EuroFlow Consortium brought together 40 researchers from eight different public university hospital-based institutions in eight European countries, and two small\/medium enterprises (SMEs), with complementary experience and knowledge in the field of flow cytometry immunophenotyping of haematological malignancies.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EToday, the EuroFlow Consortium has become a Scientific Working Group of the European Hematology Association and it has expanded to a total of 23 institutions in Europe and America.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWith all the research, new collective IP has resulted in jointly owned patents that provide royalties for the continuation of this European collaboration.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-uhopajt3ivou-or7i2n-dq406qq6jdy0rmzeqdnwjju\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-UHopajT3IVOU_Or7I2n-DQ406QQ6JDY0rMZEQdNWJJU\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]