Strategic Outline

The German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and Deutsche Krebshilfe have agreed to establish the "National Cancer Prevention Center" with a new building in Heidelberg as part of a long-term partnership. With the establishment of this model pilot facility, evidence-based and increasingly personalized cancer prevention will be systematically expanded throughout Germany with the involvement of further regional partnerships. All essential components of high-level prevention research, from basic research to clinical trials, will be combined under one roof with evidence-based information of the population on the one hand and the political decision-making level on the other hand, accompanied by effective public relations and targeted education and training of prevention experts and prevention researchers. In order to exploit the potential of cancer prevention, it is important to address society as a whole. The integrated concept of the National Cancer Prevention Center makes prevention research directly accessible to the public, the media and policy makers in a unique way.

The National Cancer Prevention Center combines modern prevention research, a prevention outpatient clinic - for participants in prevention studies, among others - and a citizen information center. The prevention outpatient clinic will serve as a contact point for healthy people with an evidence-based and free information offer. At the same time, it will be established as a citizen-oriented research platform for the development of new measures for cancer prevention and early detection in close contact with citizens. Digital applications will help to establish, for example, nutrition and exercise programs, behavior modification measures, and innovative methods of early cancer detection as part of intervention studies, while at the same time supporting people in their everyday lives to adopt health-promoting behaviors. The DKFZ has already set up a working group specifically in the area of "Digital Cancer Prevention". A long-term task of the National Cancer Prevention Center will also be to make evidence-based knowledge based on the latest research findings available to as many players in the healthcare system as possible (e.g., doctors' practices, hospitals) and to support them in implementing newly developed prevention programs. An innovative training and education center, the School of Prevention, is being established at the National Cancer Prevention Center. The School of Prevention aims to train highly talented young scientists and also to establish non-academic career paths in the field of cancer prevention. With the newly established Cancer Prevention Graduate School (CPGS), the National Cancer Prevention Center aims to address the shortage of highly qualified cancer prevention researchers observed both in Germany and internationally. The new training program is aimed at excellent doctoral students who wish to focus on interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary prevention research projects. The CPGS is coordinated by the German Cancer Research Center, and Deutsche Krebshilfe is funding the graduate school with three million euros.

To launch the strategic partnership, DKFZ and Deutsche Krebshilfe have launched the 1st National Cancer Prevention Week in 2019. From September 12 to 17, 2022, the 4th edition of the "National Cancer Prevention Week" will take place, this time with the theme "#ZEROHERO: Without alcohol, your cancer risk is lower".

DKFZ und Deutsche Krebshilfe | FORUM | Strategien und Visionen des Nationalen Krebspräventionszentrums| Online-Artikel (Januar 2022)

DKFZ und Deutsche Krebshilfe | Der Onkologe | Das Nationale Krebspräventionszentrum| Online-Artikel (November 2021)

DKFZ | Ein zukunftsweisendes Neubauvorhaben für das Deutsche Krebsforschungszentrum | Pressemitteilung (Juni 2021)

FAZ | Zukunft der Krebsmedizin 2020 | Wie kann das Potential besser genutzt werden? | Online-Artikel (Mai 2020)

DKFZ | Das Potenzial der Krebsprävention ausschöpfen | Pressemitteilung (September 2019)