Norwegian Cancer Genomics Consortium (NCGC) consists of clinicians and specialised cancer research groups, situated at the Norwegian University Hospitals, and is led by professor Ola Myklebost (photo) from the Department of Tumor Biology at Oslo University Hospital.
The NCGC participates in an international study of gene variants predisposing for cancer development. Findings from the study has recently been published in Lancet Oncology (journal impact factor 24.69). The article - entitled "Monogenic and polygenic determinants of sarcoma risk: an international genetic study" has also got an editorial comment: "Are sarcomas hereditary?".

Norway's largest newspaper Aftenposten recently printed a chronicle on personalized cancer medicine, entitled "Should every cancer patient become their own research project"? Here, leader of the National Cancer Genomics Consortium, professor Ola Myklebost, and colleagues professors Per Eystein Lønning, Bjørn Tore Gjertsen and Ragnhild A. Lothe point out that in "personalized medicine", cancer patients remain the largest and increasing group that may benefit most from new treatment strategies.
The authors emphasize the importance of increase in national clinical trials and participation in high quality international studies for the benefit of the Norwegian cancer patient and to strengthen the Norwegian professional development and research.

Leonardo A. Meza-Zepeda and Ola Myklebost in collaboration with David M. Thomas’ group in Australia co-author an article recently published in Cancer Cell (journal impact factor 23.89), entitled “The Architecture and Evolution of Cancer Neochromosomes”.
This article describes for the first time, at single base resolution, the architecture of cancer-associated neochromosomes in well- and dedifferentiated liposarcomas.

Oslo University Hospital has rewarded six research groups for their excellent papers published during the first half-year of 2014. Each group receives NOK 50.000 for use in further research. The prizes were distributed during the Friday meeting at Ullevål November 21st.
The award winners gave short presentations of the main findings in their respective articles. Managing director Bjørn Erikstein (photo) distributed the awards, and professor Ole M. Sejerstad chaired the meeting.
The six selected articles are of especially high quality, and they present important finding on both-short and long-term scales. The works reflect the good quality and the interdisciplinarity that characterises several research environments at Oslo University Hospital. The research is a fundamental condition for the institution to maintain and strenghten the quality in the patient treatment.

The BIOTEK2021 programme is the Research Council of NorwayÂ’s most comprehensive research initiative in the field of biotechnology and will run from 2012 through 2021. The programme board has now granted support to five large projects, covering all relevant thematic fields, and are expected to boost the development of commercial biotechnology in Norway.
One of the carefully selected projects is entitled "A national research and innovation platform for personalized cancer medicine", and is led by Ola Myklebost (photo) from the Department of Tumor Biology at OUS.

The Programme for Publicly-initiated Clinical Cancer Studies provides support to research projects that will increase understanding and thereby enhance the basis for effective decision-making within cancer treatment and care. The Research Council collaborates with the Norwegian Council for Quality Improvement and Priority Setting in Health Care on the selection of proposed topics for calls for proposals.

The program has recently decided to distribute a sum amounting to about 65 mill NOK among three projects, all of which are led by scientists from the Norwegian Radium Hospital, OUS: Gunhild Mælandsmo, Jon Håvard Loge and Ola Myklebost. This was celebrated on Friday April 13th (photo from the celebration under "More").

The February 2nd edition of Nature brings a feature article in their news section about Norway's current plans to use "next-generation" DNA sequencers to trawl for mutations in tumours that might reveal which cancer treatments would be most effective.
Ola Myklebost (photo), senior researcher at the Department of Tumor Biology and leader of The Norwegian Cancer Genomics Consortium, who is spearheading the effort, is interviewed for the article, which is entitled "Norway to bring cancer-gene tests to the clinic".

A figure from the article entitled "Extensive adipogenic and osteogenic differentiation of patterned human mesenchymal stem cells in a microfluidic device" was chosen as the cover illustration for a recent issue of the prestigious journal "Lab on a chip" (impact factor 6.5). The paper has been highly accessed, and is currently among the ten most accessed "Lab on a Chip" articles on the web.
As part of the effort to characterise candidate oncogenes and the involvement of stem cell functions in mesenchymal tumours (sarcomas), the Myklebost group has established an immortalised human mesenchymal stem cell model. The model is based on normal mesenchymal "stem" cells from bone marrow, provided by the Stem Cell Laboratory of Gunnar Kvalheim and colleagues at Montebello, and the work was supported by a grant to Paul Noordhuis from the NFR Stem Cell Program, who did the retroviral transductions together with Guttorm Haraldsen and colleagues at Gaustad.

The official opening of the Norwegian Center for Stem Cell Research took place on Friday, November 27, 2009 at 1300. The opening started with a short ceremony near the Center's facilities at Domus Medica. Statements were made by the following officials and representatives: Anne-Grete Strøm-Erichsen, Annetine Staff, Ole Petter Ottersen, Hilde Jerkø, Steinar Funderud, Erlend Smeland and Joel Glover.
A tour of the newly renovated laboratories and core facilities at the Center took place following the ceremony.

The Microarray Core Facility celebrates its 10 year anniversary this year. On this occasion, a special research seminar was held on Thursday February 26th, entitled "10 Years Anniversary of the Rikshospitalet/University of Oslo - Microarray Core Facility". The seminar took place in the Auditorium at The Norwegian Radium Hospital. Lectures were held by Ola Myklebost, Leonardo Meza-Zepeda, Joakim Lundeberg and Michael R. Stratton.

The lectures are now available on Web TV.

Siv. ing. Stine Henrichson Kresse defended her PhD thesis, entitled "Chromosomal aberrations in human sarcomas identified using genomic microarrays" on Tuesday May 20th. Her trial lecture - on the topic “Microarrays: identification of gene signatures and their application in clinical practice. An update" was held the day before.
In connection with the disputation, the opponents give guest lectures. On Monday May 19th professor Matt van de Rijn talked about "Using sarcomas as discovery tools for tumor stroma". On Wednesday May 21st professor Irene Andrulis gave a lecture entitled "Identification and clinical importance of molecular alterations in axillary node-negative breast cancer".