Unicancer
Unicancer is the only hospital network 100% devoted to fighting cancer:
- 18 French Comprehensive Cancer Centres (FCCCs): private non-profit hospitals
- +20,000 women and men engaged in an ongoing quest for excellence in care, research, education
- + 516 000 patients a year
Unicancer in numbers: In France, the FCCCs treat: 30% of the women with breast cancer, 21% of the patients with endocrine cancer and 20% of women with gynaecologic cancers.
A key player in research in France, Unicancer is the main European academic sponsor in oncology: 5000 patients included in R&D sponsored-clinical trials ; 86 ongoing clinical trials, including 44 in recruitment phase; 216 investigational sites involved (public hospitals, private clinics, comprehensive cancer centres), including 52 located in 8 other countries.
Role
Unicancer is the lead partner and coordinator of the project.
As coordinator, Unicancer will ensure the scientific integrity of the project and efficient management of the overall project.
Unicancer is also the sponsor of the clinical trial Optima Young in the European countries involved, thus will oversee the regulatory and day-to-day management of the clinical trial.
Members
Ines Vaz-Luis
Ines Vaz Luis, medical oncologist and researcher, is an international specialist in survivorship. She is the coordinator of the Path4Young project.
She is director of the Cancer Survivorship group in the Inserm U981 unit, and deputy head of the interdisciplinary department for patient pathway organization (DIOPP). She is an executive member of the international BIG against breast cancer network, as well as of the scientific committees of the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
At national level, she co-leads the scientific development of studies linked to the CANTO (CANcer TOxicities) cohort, which focuses on toxicities developed in women treated for localized breast cancer. She is also leading the development of the WeShare digital platform, a shared, dynamic, integrated, patient-centric national research infrastructure piloted by Unicancer, to accelerate the decentralization of oncology research, and particularly cancer research in the human and social sciences.
Ines Vaz Luis completed her medical studies in Portugal, before flying to the United States to do a Master's degree in clinical research at the prestigious Harvard Medical School. She stayed for almost five years, working as a lecturer at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, affiliated to Harvard University.
Having arrived at Gustave Roussy in 2016, she is continuing her research work focused on quantifying treatment-related burden, stratifying cancer-related toxicities, and developing and implementing interventions to mitigate deterioration in quality of life.
Ines Vaz Luis is the author of over 100 international peer-reviewed publications and more than 200 presentations at international conferences (Google Scholar H-Index: 29). In 2024, she received the International Women Who Conquer Cancer Mentorship Award, presented by ASCO and its foundation, Conquer Cancer.
Aure Vanhecke
Aure Vanhecke (PharmD) is the Project Manager of the PATH-FOR-YOUNG project at Unicancer. She holds a master's degree in clinical trials and pharmacovigilance and a doctorate in pharmacy. She joined Unicancer in 2024 after 2 years' experience in a french national public institution where, among other projects, she managed a European project in pediatrics.