As partners in EHE research to find better treatments for people with EHE, the EHE Rare Cancer Charity (UK), the EHE Foundation, and EHE ITALIA Associazione Non Solo Laura ODV are excited to share the expansion of the multi-national collaborative research project “The generation and characterization of patient-derived models of EHE to assess the activity of anticancer agents and identify/validate novel therapeutic targets.” 

In a joint agreement, each of the patient organizations has committed to continue support for the expansion and extension of this multi-year project through 2027. With meaningful advances and clear potential to improve lives, this project stands as a pivotal step forward in the ongoing journey to unlock answers for EHE. 

The project was initiated in 2022 as a multi-year translational collaboration of the Instituto Nazionale dei Tumori (INT) in Milan, Italy; The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) in London, England; and the Royal Marsden Hospital (RMH) in London. The project encompasses multiple objectives, including: 

• identification of novel prognostic and predictive biomarkers,
• assessment of the natural history of the disease,
• assessment of the activity of systemic therapies utilized for EHE,
• development of EHE disease models using tumor tissue donated by patients under study, and
• assessment of the activity of novel and repurposed drugs in preclinical disease models.

Hugh Leonard, Chair of Trustees, EHERCC (UK), commented on behalf of patients’ advocates,

“We are incredibly fortunate to have this opportunity to fund some of the most passionate and brilliant doctors and researchers leading the fight against EHE. The collaboration among these institutions and partnership across patient organizations is the model of how we will make progress in rare and ultra-rare cancers.”