EPROPA (European Program for ROutine testing of Patients with Advanced lung cancer)

A European network dedicated to connecting patients

To increase their molecular screening

The advent of Next-Generation Sequencing in the management of NSCLC patients had improved their therapeutic opportunities.

To facilitate their accrual in clinical trials

Defining the molecular landscape of these patients allows to identify alterations actionable by targeted therapies.

To provide them a logistic support

To match this information with the accessibility into clinical trials is of paramount relevance toward better patients’ outcome and WALCE provides free logistical support to patients and a caregiver to access available clinical trial available outside the country of residence.

What can EPROPA do for me?

I am a

patient

I am a

doctor

This section contains useful information for both patients and caregivers.

EPROPA (European Program for ROutine testing of Patients with Advanced lung cancer) is a support program designed and promoted by WALCE (Women Against Lung Cancer in Europe) to offer to patients with lung tumors specific tests and possibly personalized tretatments.

If your oncologist consider your participation to EPROPA program suitable for your clinical situation, you will be asked to sign an Informed Consent. After this procedure, your biopsy specimens will be sent to the Central Laboratory at the University of Torino.

Whenever the test results show the presence of a specific alteration on tumor cells, your oncologist may prescribe you an already available specific drug or may propose you the enrolment in a clinical trial in your Country or across Europe.

Your oncologist will advice you about the availability of clinical trials according to EPROPA test results. In case of long distance to reach hospitals where such studies are available, EPROPA will arrange for the transport and accommodation for you and one of your beloved ones.

By participating to EPROPA, the biopsy of your tumor will be tested in a specialized boratory of the Department of Oncology of the University of Turin (Italy). If the research will find specific characteristrics in your tumor cells, you might be proposed to receive a personalized treatment already available or the enrollment in a clinical trial, according to the test’s results.

No, but even “negative” tests (e.g. no significant alterations found) might be useful for your oncologist to prescribe the most appropriate treatment for you among the available ones.

A clinical trial is a type of research that evaluates the efficacy and tolerability of a specific treatment in a patient’ population. In the context of lung tumors, targeted therapies directed against specific alterations are currently being tested to increase the possibility of a personalized cure of this disease.

EPROPA (European Program for ROutine testing for Patients with Advanced lung cancer) is a support program designed and pronoted from WALCE (Women Against Lung Cancer in Europe) to offer equality in access to tests, drugs and clinical trials to patients affected by Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) across Europe.

EPROPA will ensure teleconsulting to a National Reference Centre for patients with NSCLC to share clinical and pathological data. Tissue and plasma samples will be shipped to the central laboratory for molecular screening and, on the basis of the results, to assess potential eligibility for therapeutic biomarker-driven clinical trials. The estimated turn-around time from shipment of the samples to tests result will be approximately 10 working days from the arrival in the laboratory of the tissue sample.

Women Against Lung Cancer in Europe (WALCE) is a non-profit Organization founded in 2006, based in Italy, but networking at European level. Its primary aim is to increase women’s awareness about lung cancer and to support patients affected by this disease. WALCE is involved in education, prevention campaigns and support initiatives for patients and their families. WALCE is a member of Lung Cancer Europe (LuCE) and Global lung Cancer Coalition (GLCC). With EPROPA, WALCE is aiming to reduce disparities to the access to extensive molecular screening and clinical trials with biomarker-driven drugs in Europe.

Age ≥ 18 years;
Histologically or cytologically confirmed diagnosis of non-small-cell lung cancer;
Stage IIIB / C or IV disease (according to the 8th edition of the IASLC TNM staging system);
Availability of adequate tumor sample: FFPE tissue sample (tissue block or sections) from the primary tumor, recurrent tumor, metastasis. Central performed confirmation of tumor tissue adequacy in terms of quantity and quality will be required before molecular screening at the Department of Oncology of the University of Torino;
At least three months of life-expectancy;
Written informed consent according to ICH / GCP and national / local regulations;
Absence of exclusion criteria such as: active B or C hepatitis, HIV, second malignancies, severe organ disfunction, comorbidities that may prevent access to clinical trials.

For more information, please refer to the specific part of the Study Protocol.

Download the file with the useful information for shipping the biological material.

The main goal of EPROPA is to generate a free-of-charge molecular screening platform for tumor characterization, in order to increase the detection of oncogenic drivers (frequent or rare) in NSCLC patients. At the same time, EPROPA will optimize patients access to biomarker-driven clinical trials.

The Platform will offer free-of-carge molecular screening of tumor samples. WALCE will coordinate the collaboration with Academia and Pharma Companies for providing the opportunity to match molecular characteristics and ongoing biomarker-driven clinical trials. If the results will open the opportunity to enter in a dedicate clinical trial and the patient will accept it, EPROPA could help him/her to reach the closest site where the study is available, covering for the cost of journey and staying for both patient and one caregiver during the experimental treatment. However, as the treating physician, you will follow all the steps of the process and you will mediate every choice during the patient’s journey. EPROPA is not intended to substitute your position nor to provide you medical advises.

WALCE is located at San Luigi University Hospital in Orbassano (Turin, Italy). Its location is close to the Department of Oncology – University of Turin, where the laboratory is hosted, making this collaboration extremely effective and favorable. WALCE along with the Reference Centre will guarantee for the quality and the timely execution of the analyses.

Download the form and e-mail to: stefania.vallone@womenagainstlungcancer.eu

You will receive an email to finalize the process and to enter into the opeartive platform: www.epropa.eu/portal

In numbers

A growing community

Leveraging scientific networking, physicians joining to this project will experience the chance to discuss molecular data and treatment options.

Clinical trials

As of September 2020

Admitted patients

More information

Would you like to know more?

If you are interested in this specific project, please "CONTACT WALCE" to gain more information and directly ask opportunities to proceed or call at he WALCE Office: +39-0119026980

A structured network of institutions and companies

The aim of EPROPA is to create a European Research Network, involving Centers of Expertise in the treatment of lung cancer, different Pharma Companies and other entities, named the University of Turin and the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) that have endorsed this program.

The Pharma Companies that support EPROPA are

How doctors welcome EPROPA

"A year has already gone since the launch of the EPROPA program and we are pleased to close 2021, announcing a new center has obtained the Ethics Committee approval and will therefore be part of this network together. So Slovakia is joining Italy, Greece, Romania and Slovenia, where several centers are already active and offer this opportunity to their patients. As always, many patients have contacted us, always involving the centers of reference and we are pleased to have been of support in the diagnostic and therapeutic approach. During this year we have been able to identify target molecular alterations in many of the samples examined and the number of patients benefiting from EPROPA, by accessing a clinical trial available in another center, on the basis of the analyzes carried out, has increased and at the moment we have 6 people”

Prof. Silvia Novello

President WALCE and Head of Thoracic Oncology Unit - San Luigi Hospital Orbassano/Turin – Italy

The voice of Partner Centers

Share your story on Facebook

#realstoriesrealpeople

Watch more

About WALCE

WALCE (Women Against Lung Cancer in Europe) is a non-profit Organisation based in Italy and networking at European level, founded in 2006 with the primary aim to increase women’s awareness about the significant incidence and mortality of lung cancer in female population and to support patients affected by this disease (and their families). WALCE currently provides accurate and updated information about lung cancer in terms of prevention, diagnosis and treatment, and it wants to promote communication strategies aim to aware public opinion and decision makers on damages of smoking. WALCE is mainly involved in: information and education dedicated to patients and their families, patient support programs and primary prevention.

Visit website