NEC Laboratories Europe supports University of Birmingham-based InHANSE’s innovative clinical cancer research

NEC Laboratories Europe today announced a donation to the University of Birmingham-based Institute of Head and Neck Studies and Education (InHANSE) to support its future cancer research.

The donation recognizes InHANSE’s commitment to advancing innovative cancer treatment and improving patient care.

In 2020, it is estimated that 2.7 million people across the European Union were diagnosed with some form of cancer – excluding non-melanoma skin cancer – and nearly 1.3 million succumbed to it.

InHANSE conducts research into head, neck and thyroid diseases, evaluating the effectiveness of new treatments for head, neck and thyroid cancers. A research collaboration between the University of Birmingham and University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, InHANSE’s areas of research includes translational and molecular medicine, clinical effectiveness and trials.

Professor Hisham Mehanna, Director of InHANSE and Deputy Pro-Vice Chancellor (Interdisciplinary Research) at the University of Birmingham, said: “Our mission is to improve the lives of patients, taking new treatments and diagnostics from bench to bedside.

“Our groundbreaking clinical trials are leading to research results that have real impact, improving cancer treatments and outcomes for patients battling cancer. We are incredibly grateful for the support from NEC Laboratories Europe, which will help to ensure that our vital research continues.”

InHANSE uses translational research, patient stratification and bioinformatics to quickly identify which treatments fail and, more importantly, why, which is fundamental in the process to develop better treatment options.

InHANSE’s clinical research resonates strongly with NEC Laboratories Europe’s research into Digital Health and gene regulatory networks. The importance of InHANSE’s work and the positive impact that it has on patients’ lives is clear.

Dr. Saverio Niccolini, General Manager of NEC Laboratories Europe and Biomedical AI Group Manager, said: “The analysis of the tumor environment for improving patient outcomes is at the core of our applied research agenda in the biomedical field.

“We aim to discover new and effective means to improve population health by uncovering hidden meaning and relationships in data that we did not have before. InHANSE’s work has implications for our research that we value highly.

“InHANSE’s holistic approach to patient care and bespoke treatment is leading the way in clinical cancer research. We look forward to supporting them in the future.”