Personalised medicine refers to the targeted and individual treatment of diseases - a treatment approach that has been pursued for many years. However, due to technological progress, innovative diagnostic methods and new research findings, it is now known that the same disease can have individual characteristics.

The characterisation of disease features, such as tumour profiles, now makes it possible to use targeted therapies and ensure a better quality of care. The Molecular Tumour Boards, as a central component of the ZPM, aim to use molecular diagnostics to find findings on targeted, individual treatment options for cancer patients who have no other guideline-based therapies. In addition, it is checked whether suitable clinical trials are available.
Further information can also be found here.

• After your treating oncologist has properly informed you and registered you at the MoFa by sending all relevant information, a specific date will be suggested for a case presentation at the MoFa as soon as possible.

• As a rule, it is not necessary for you to present yourself in person at the ZPM Ulm for the case discussion at the MoFa. However, a sample (tumour sample and blood sample if necessary) is required to carry out the necessary molecular diagnostics. Existing samples will be sent to us in advance by your attending physician. However, if a biopsy is necessary and this takes place at Ulm University Hospital, an on-site visit is essential. Your oncologist will explain this to you.

• The MoFa brings together an interdisciplinary team of experts consisting of specialists and scientists from various fields (oncology, radiology and nuclear medicine, human genetics, pathology, bioinformatics). In the expert conference, your attending physician (e.g. via video conference) or the MoFa board physician will present your case of illness. The doctor giving the presentation will report on the type of cancer you have, the course of your illness, your state of health, any treatment attempts made and the response of the illness to the respective treatment as well as previous illnesses within your family.

• Based on the information provided, the experts involved in the MoFa will decide which diagnostics will be carried out to characterise your tumour disease. This is then initiated by the attending physician and usually carried out within two to four weeks at the ZPM Ulm (the process is delayed if a biopsy is required).

• As the MoFa currently takes place on a Wednesday every two weeks, the diagnostic findings are presented by the responsible institute (usually pathology or human genetics) in the subsequent MoFa, i.e. approx. 2-4 weeks after the initial presentation. Based on these findings, the panel of experts can, for example, arrange for further diagnostics, evaluate the availability of a treatment option, suggest a presentation at the Institute of Human Genetics or check whether suitable clinical trials are available as an option for your further treatment.

• Any treatment recommendation resulting from the findings will then be made available to your treating oncologist. He or she will immediately inform you of the findings in a personal consultation and discuss the next steps with you. If therapy is being considered, this can usually be carried out by your treating oncologist, depending on the type of therapy. If necessary, therapy is also possible here at Ulm University Hospital.

Further information can be found here.

If you have any questions, please contact your oncologist. They will contact us if necessary. If you do not receive suitable information or have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
E-mail: zpm.ulm@uniklinik-ulm.de