The Breast International Group: a new spirit of collaboration in breast cancer research for the new millennium

Citation
M. Piccart et al., The Breast International Group: a new spirit of collaboration in breast cancer research for the new millennium, EUR J CANC, 36(14), 2000, pp. 1733-1736
Categorie Soggetti
Oncology,"Onconogenesis & Cancer Research
Journal title
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF CANCER
ISSN journal
09598049 → ACNP
Volume
36
Issue
14
Year of publication
2000
Pages
1733 - 1736
Database
ISI
SICI code
0959-8049(200009)36:14<1733:TBIGAN>2.0.ZU;2-6
Abstract
The Breast International Group (B.I.G.-aisbl), an official non-profit organ isation since 1999, is an association whose members are well established cl inical breast cancer research groups located around the world. Inspired by the American 'Intergroup' model, B.I.G. functions as a 'consortium of conso rtia': it is a partnership among independent co-operative groups, each with its own extensive network of affiliated centres, hospitals, laboratories a nd investigators. Through B.I.G., groups draw on combined resources to redu ce the wasteful duplication of efforts and to achieve results in breast can cer research impossible for any individual group in a comparable period of time. International collaboration through a mechanism like B.I.G. will beco me increasingly frequent in the future, especially as we move towards explo ring therapies targeted at subgroups of patients with specific tumour molec ular profiles. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.