Mission:Cancer

Mission Cancer. Oncological care at Vilnius University Hospital Santaros Klinikos

 Vilnius University Hospital Santaros Klinikos (VUH SK) is a leading tertiary-level healthcare and research institution in Lithuania and one of the major regional hospitals in the Baltic States. It has more than 36 specialised medical centres, many of them (e.g., Haematology, Oncology and Transfusion, Pulmonology and Allergology, Abdominal Surgery, Urology, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Dermatovenerology, Neurosurgery, Paediatric Oncology and Haematology) provide services to cancer patients and participate in research related to oncological diseases. 

Founded by Vilnius University and the Lithuanian Ministry of Health, the hospital has more than 6000 employees including 1,269 physicians, 1,944 nurses and other highly qualified staff. Every year, about 1 million outpatient consultations, 80 000 hospitalisations and over 40 000 surgical procedures are provided at VUH SK. Complex treatment services are available for neonate, paediatric as well as adult patients affected with cancer of any type or localisation. More than 4000 new cancer patients are diagnosed per year. VUH SK provides services for cross-border cancer patients. 

VUH SK offers modern cancer diagnostics facilities including imaging, invasive radiology, and telepathology. Most globally known state-of-the-art cancer treatment methods, such as chemotherapy, oncological surgery, radiotherapy, stem cell and solid organ transplantation, and cell immunotherapy, are implemented to ensure complex and high-quality care for patients presenting with any oncological disease. One of the most recent developments in cancer care at VUH SK was the introduction of CAR T-cell therapy in September 2022. 

VUH SK is a full member of twelve European Reference Networks (ERN), including EuroBloodNet (ERN for Rare Haematological Diseases, https://eurobloodnet.eu/), PaedCan (ERN for Paediatric Cancer, https://paedcan.ern-net.eu/), EURACAN (ERN for rare adult solid cancers, https://euracan.eu/) and Genturis (ERN for all patients with one of the rare genetic tumour risk syndromes, https://www.genturis.eu/l=eng/Home.html). Membership at ERN enables specialists at VUH SK to provide advanced care for patients with rare oncological diseases and consult with experienced experts from centres across Europe. It also empowers representatives of VUH SK to contribute to international research opportunities within a network of healthcare leaders of new developments in the field of rare cancers. 

Being a university hospital, VUH SK has a strong commitment to the training of medical professionals and cancer research. The institution contains an extensive basis for medical education and serves as a major healthcare centre for undergraduate medical studies, residency training in most medical fields as well as the implementation of doctoral and postdoctoral research. In 2021, specialists at VUH SK authored more than 70 cancer-related publications and participated in 20 active clinical trials in the field. Over the years, members of the clinical and research community at VUH SK have acquired extensive expertise in R&D projects and continue to conduct phase I-IV clinical trials of investigational medicinal products and medical devices, observational studies, and studies of international registries. Digital pathology and the use of artificial intelligence in tumour evaluation are among the priority areas of scientific and clinical activities of VUH SK.  Moreover, several initiatives are deployed to streamline the multidisciplinary care of cancer survivors indulging survivors’ empowerment via modern IT solutions. VUL SK is implementing several international research projects including those funded by the EU.

Based in Lithuania, a member of the European Union, VUH SK seeks to contribute to a multifaceted approach to cancer, according to the goals of the EU Cancer Mission (2021-2027) and address all four objectives of tackling oncological diseases: 1) understanding cancer, 2) preventing cancer or detecting it early, 3) providing effective treatment and 4) ensuring high quality of life among patients with cancer and their close ones. We believe that close cooperation with major academic, clinical, and non-governmental institutions both nationally and internationally provides specialists at VUH SK with a unique opportunity to contribute to novel and effective solutions for cancer care.

Ongoing EU projects: 

• TREL: Twinning in research and Education to improve survival in Childhood Solid Tumors in Lithuania, 952438  (01/01/2021 - 31/12/2023)

 Website:  https://siope.eu/TREL-project

• PanCareSurPass: Implementing the digital Survivorship Passport to improve Person-Centered Survivorship Care, (01/03/2021 - 28/02/2025)

Webiste: https://www.pancaresurpass.eu/

• 4.UNCAN.eu: European initiative to UNderstand CANcer (UNCAN.eu), a blueprint for UNCAN.eu platform – European Federated Cancer Research data hub (01/09/2022 – 30/11/2023)

Website: https://uncaninitiative.eu/