At the “hybrid” meeting, which was held both online and in person, the experts of our university presented their research activities that investigate the role of the microbiome both in the development and the treatment of cancer. During the English-language sessions of the scientific program, the speakers reported on the findings of basic research conducted at the University of Debrecen as well as on the clinical applications thereof.
- At our university, top-quality microbiome research activities have been conducted for a number of years, based on the close cooperation of experts from a variety of different institutes. In the framework of these efforts, researchers from the Department of Oncology Radiology and the MÉK Complex Systems and Microbiome Innovations Center, in collaboration with Professor Judit Remenyik’s working group, carry out joint scientific projects. This cooperation makes it possible for theoretical knowledge and state-of-the-art laboratory facilities to be organically connected to clinical oncology practice, thereby producing more complex, translational, and effective research results- said Professor Árpád Kovács, Director of the Oncology Radiology Clinic at the University of Debrecen Clinical Center, to hirek.unideb.hu.
Specialists at UD’s Oncology Radiology Clinic are primarily investigating how the development of tumors, the effectiveness of their treatments and their side effects are related to changes in the microbiome.
- As it has been proven in the case of a number of tumor types, microbiome changes occur simultaneously and in parallel with tumor processes. Therefore, our research focus is specifically on how oncological treatments, especially chemotherapy and radiation therapy, affect the composition of the microbiome and what kinds of new intervention opportunities, drug development, and further research directions these changes might open up. It is mostly the radiation therapy for colorectal, head and neck, breast, and gynecological cancers that the research we conduct is related to. The overall study of the microbiome is one of the most important and most dynamically developing areas of medical research today, which has a significant long-term scientific potential, especially in the case of such an institutional background that is available at the University of Debrecen- said Professor Árpád Kovács.
Apart from researchers coming from Hungarian medical faculties and universities, there were also foreign experts from the Czech Republic and Croatia participating by joining online the scientific forum held at the Oncology Radiology Clinic.
Beyond the objective of presenting and sharing the research results and findings, the overall aim of this symposium was to establish and launch new domestic and international research collaborations. The international symposium was organized jointly by the University of Debrecen and the organization called CEEAO (Central and Eastern European Academy of Oncology).
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