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Greece will become the host and chief coordinator of the international project on examining and improving the treatment of cancer CHIC (Computational Horizons in Cancer). The project aims to develop computer models to visualize the different types of cancer, and techniques related to the personalized treatment of the disease.

The aim is to create a database that can be embedded into a virtual model of human physiology (Virtual Physiological Human). Clinical, histopathological images and permanent molecular and genetic control of the patient will enable the scientists to see through a stimulator what would happen if they apply one treatment or another, and how it will affect the normal tissues around the tumour.

"Greece is the international coordinator of a large research programme. This success turns a long standing dream into reality and gives recognition for our innovative contribution to the European and international research programmes in previous years," said the official CHIC coordinator George Stamatakos, who heads the Research Institute In Silico - Oncology at the Institute of Communications and Computer Systems (ICCS) in Greece.

The Institute in Greece has been selected to manage the programme after an international competition held by the European Commission. The research programme involves more than 17 specialized organizations that take part in the research. The total budget is 10.6 million euro, 1,130,000 euro of which have been allocated to the activities of the ICCS. The European Commission funds the research within the context of the research programme Horizons 2020 (2014-2020).

The research activities of the participants in the project can be defined as a complex combination of science, technology and clinical medicine, which focuses on the growth of malignant tumours and seeks new therapies for the treatment of tumour tissues in all sizes that have biological and clinical significance.
 
Bio Engineering Professor at the University of Pennsylvania Ravi Radhakrishnan states that the vision of this project is for the researchers to adapt the data collected during the process and to personalize the treatment. All scientists involved in the project seek to develop a set of basic principles, tools, and methods to safely improve the treatment of patients.

"The international cooperation in the specific project is even more important to our country during the crisis because it opens new horizons for our research activities and for the scientific circles in Greece," Andoniou Moropoulou from the Polytechnic University in Athens told To Vima. George Stamatakos insists that cancer is not just a disease, but a natural phenomenon as well. As such, scientists believe its mastering may take the form of mathematical models to answer many of the unknowns in the field.