Facts

The center originally focused on molecular, paraclinical and clinical features of adult patients with Glioblastoma, a devastating disease, in which no progress in treatment survival has been observed for the last 20-25 years. Our endpoint of success is prolongation of life.

In order to reach this goal; we believe that measuring and evaluation of these features in each patient will provide a deep understanding of the individual patient and comparing data from all with each other should enable us to generate new individual and general hypotheses and create ideas for biology based specific targeted treatments.

In order to obtain our goals we have focused on Tumor heterogeneity, Dispersal mechanisms and tumor environment, Treatment resistance, whole genome analyses, Collection of Real-World data and targeted drug treatment. We established 20 work-packages (WP), divided into three Clinical Focus Areas (CFA), namely: WP 1-6, Diagnosis and molecular profiling (CFA 1); Treatment, WP 7-16 (CFA 2) and Data collection, interpretation and modelling, WP 17-20 (CFA 3). The individual WP’s are reported separately.

These were selected to include all regions in Denmark treating primary brain tumors to adhere to the primary call of application.

As the scientific work evolved during the five year granting period, the goal was adjusted after the midterm evaluation, based on advice from the international scientific advisory board (SAB). Still, the funded WP’s continues, but the national collaboration became sharpened and adapted towards own and international findings with a stronger focus on cancer neuroscience.

First of all, we decided to concentrate our work on patients in which the whole genome has been analyzed, so all researchers pool their data together in order to obtain as much data as possible for each patient. That would allow us to study features important for tumor development and new treatments.

A new organization has been performed with scientific group leaders covering the strategic goals. The group leaders will get more decision competence, more responsibility and secure their data pools and secure that clinical and basal research work together in an optimal way.

As a consequence, future work is more based on molecular characterization including whole genome sequencing, spatial and single-cell analysis of tumor and stroma features, structural and functional characterization using PET/MRI, histology, and functional investigation of neuron-tumor interaction. This should end up in multimodality molecular and patient signatures and bases for personalized GBM treatment. All other investigations, both basic and clinical, are to be performed on these patients so that it is possible to analyze many data points on the same patients. This increases the possibility of identifying new targets, pathways, etc., that can be treated with specific drugs. The basis of this achievement is the national NeuroGenome protocol.

A research strategy on cancer neuroscience has been presented and discussed during the latest two annual meetings focusing on topics that naturally enhance synergy and increase interaction between basic research and clinical practice, as well as increase focus on specific selected treatments. As part of this goal the national collaboration will be closer within the NeuroGenome protocol, and more international collaboration will be established.

Another specific goal of the center was to establish a closer collaboration throughout Denmark for more comprehensive research in primary brain tumors. We and the SAB felt that this was not yet accomplished at the time of the midterm evaluation. This has been very much in focus in the last two years of the center, with more cross-collaboration within most WP’s, and especially the the approval and opening of a common database for the NeuroGenome protocol in all regions of Denmark.

It was therefore the common understanding and conclusion at the fifts annual meeting in December 2025, that the center continues with its own funding supplies after 2025.

Organization

The Steering Group includes Principal Investigators from each 20 research groups, which have been formed with expertise in surgery, radiation therapy, medical treatment, pathology, imaging and basic research. The Principal Investigators and their co-Principal Investigators each represent a Working Package, in all the 20 Working Packages are represented in a Steering Group. The Steering Group will together with the secretariat overlook the scientific progress in the Working Package, coordinating data sharing, coordinating the economy, and the scientific and public dissemination of new knowledge. The Steering Group will also coordinate scientific PhD courses.

The Steering Group is led by Ulrik Lassen as Director, and Dr. Hans Skovgaard Poulsen as co-Director until his death in October 2025.0

Anne-Marie Bach was head of the Secretariat until her death in May 2026. Kirsten Grunnet is the new head of the Secretariat.

A patient representative from the Danish Brain Tumor patient advocacy group (Hjernetumorforeningen, represented by the chair Morten Nielsen), is part of The Steering Group. https://www.hjernetumorforeningen.dk/

For taking part in annual meetings and the evaluation reports regarding each Working Package, an International Scientific Advisory Board is involved.

The Steering Group includes Principal Investigators from each 20 research groups, which have been formed with expertise in surgery, radiation therapy, medical treatment, pathology, imaging and basic research.

For taking part in annual meetings and the evaluation reports regarding each Working Project, an International Scientific Advisory Board is involved, their three members are:

Webster Cavenee
Professor, Dr. Director of Strategic Alliances in Central Nervous System Cancers, Distinguished Professor, Chair NFCR Scientific Advisory Board
Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, University of California San Diego, US

Michael Weller
Professor, Dr. Med., Chair the Dept. of Neurology
University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland

Manfred Westphal
Professor, Dr. Director of the department Neurosurgery
University Clinic Hamburg-Eppendorf (UCHE) in Hamburg, Germany

For Project Coordination a Board of Directors come into action, the five members are:

Ulrik Lassen, chair
Professor, Physician in Chief, Director of the DCCC Brain Tumor Center, Head of Dept. for Cancer Treatment, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital

Christian Bonde PedersenMD, PhD, Associate Professor, Dept of Neurosurgery, Odense University Hospital, Head of DNO

Anders KorshøjMD, PhD, Consultant Neurosurgeon, Associate Professor, Dept. of Clinical Medicine, Dept of Neurosurgery, Aarhus University Hospital

Bjarne Winther Kristensen
​Professor of Pathology, Consultant, MD, PhD, Dept of Pathology, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital

Joachim Weischenfeldt
Professor, PhD, Biotech Research & Innovation Center (BRIC), Copenhagen University