One in three men and one in four women in Belgium are diagnosed with cancer before the age of 75. Despite important successes during the last decades, the mechanisms underlying the development and progression of cancer are only partially understood. Hence, cancer researchers are facing great challenges in their quest for better and targeted treatments.

Ghent University (UGent), Ghent University Hospital (UZ Gent) and VIB-UGent (a life sciences research institute in Flanders), have a strong history concerning cancer research. Over the years, different research teams acquired specific expertise that resulted in internationally renowned cancer research. In addition, clinical applications of novel treatments and diagnostic and prognostic tests were implemented. Many research activities and knowhow are however scattered over diverse campuses of UGent, UZ Gent and VIB-UGent.

CRIG's mission is to unite, stimulate and enhance the impact of cancer research at Ghent University, Ghent University Hospital and VIB-UGent.

Lung cancer is the most common cancer worldwide. Cigarette smoke exposure has been typically implicated in this disease, but environmental pollution is increasingly recognized as a a causative factor. Lung cancer is also the most deadly type of cancer, with a higher cause-specific mortality than breast, colorectal and prostate cancer combined.
Even in an early stage cure is not guaranteed with an alarming rate of relapse a few years after resection. However most lung cancer patients are diagnosed with disseminated disease. The majority of these patients will undergo systemic chemotherapy, with significant toxicity, and no long-term therapeutic benefit.
A minority of these patients harbour a tumor with an oncogenic driver that can be targeted with kinase inhibitors, however resistance develops over time.
Recently, a number of promising clinical studies have demonstrated that blocking negative feedback mechanisms operative on the immune system, using so-called immune checkpoint inhibitors, can induce deep and long-lasting responses in a fraction of lung cancer patients, resulting in increased overall survival.

More information: https://www.crig.ugent.be/