Kenny Rodriguez-Wallberg receives EU funding for project on fertility in young cancer patients
Multidisciplinary researchers will come together in a new consortium, led by Professor Kenny Rodriguez-Wallberg, Karolinska Institute, to develop biomarkers to predict late effects and infertility in adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer patients, and to develop clinical care guidelines. Predict AYA will receive nearly EUR 7 million in funding from the European Union’s Horizon programme Mission Cancer.
KI researcher Kenny Rodriguez-Wallberg professor of reproductive oncology at Karolinska Institutet and senior consultant in reproductive medicine and head of the Program for fertility preservation at Karolinska University Hospital, has successfully secured nearly EUR 7 million (approximately SEK 77 million) in European funding for Predict AYA.
Professor Rodriguez-Wallberg will lead this international project that will use innovative multidisciplinary approaches to investigate late effects and unmet fertility-related needs of adolescent and young adult (AYAs), treated for cancer at ages 15-39.
Infertility common complication
AYA cancer patients have a high survival rate, with nearly 85 per cent of patients surviving for five years or more after their diagnosis. But survivorship often comes with long term complications associated with cancer and its treatment, including infertility.
These long-term late effects have a significant negative impact on the quality of life of survivors in all facets of their lives.
“There are important gaps in knowledge on why cancer patients may develop or not late effects, even following similar treatment regimes,” says Kenny Rodriguez-Wallberg, researcher at the Department of Oncology-Pathology, KI. “These gaps will be addressed by four complementary approaches including clinical studies, epidemiological research, pharmacogenetic modeling and in vitro experimental testing.”
Aims to improve quality of life
Predict AYA will start addressing these needs by building on data from existing populations-based registers and large genomic biobanks across Europe, as well as newly established clinical AYA cohorts, using techniques such as innovative precision medicine and pharmacogenetics to identify genetic biomarkers that may explain the inter-individual differences in treatment-induced reproductive toxicity.
The programme aims to reduce infertility and other organ toxicities that patients experience, and to improve the quality of their lives beyond cancer.
Predict AYA in short
Predict Aya is one of the few projects in Europe focused specifically on the long-term health of young cancer survivors. It was chosen from over 40 highly competitive applications submitted to the 2024 Horizon Cancer Mission.
Predict AYA will bring together experts from different scientific fields across Europe to:
- Find biomarkers (biological signals) in the body that show which patients are at high risk for fertility damage and other organ toxicities from cancer treatment.
- Use genetics and precision medicine to better understand why treatments affect people’s reproductive systems differently.
- Create clinical guidelines to help doctors personalize treatments and better protect patients’ fertility.
The goal is to develop a risk model that can be used across Europe to predict reproductive harm based on a patient's genes and treatment history. In addition to identifying risk factors, Predict AYA will also explore:
- How often and how severely fertility is affected by different treatments
- Pregnancy risks for cancer survivors
- The health of children born to AYA survivors
- How effective current fertility preservation methods are
Predict AYA officially starts on 17 June, with an international team of researchers meeting in Stockholm to kick off the work.