TCancer (HORIZON-MISS-2025-02-CANCER-02: EU Cancer Mission)

Testicular tumors are a rare and heterogeneous group of tumors arising from primitive germ cells usually affecting young men at age of 15-40 years. One third of all testicular cancer (TC) cases are diagnosed in the EU. When detected early, TC is a curable disease, however, the metastatic disease has a poor prognosis and the TC survivors are at increased risk to develop long-term complications related to physical, mental and socioeconomical quality of life. Known risk factors for TC are developmental disorders of genital tissues (testicular dysgenesis syndrome, sex development disorders) and a family history of TC among first-degree relatives. A number of studies suggested possible relationship between rising incidence of TC and exposure to endocrine disruptive chemicals, the prevalence of which is associated with industrialization and urbanization. However, direct evidences on the causative relation between these substances and TC are still lacking, which limits effective prevention of the disease.

The primary goal of this study is to deepen knowledge on TC risk factors ((epi) genetic and environmental) for improved risk control, timely diagnosis and treatment personalization. We are seeking to combine versatile competence of multinational consortium for comprehensive molecular profiling of TC, including epigenomic, genomic, volatilomic, and metagenomic analysis, thus ee are looking for the partners to expand TC cohorts and enlarge the portfolio of innovative research methods.