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Participants at the TTRIS-CSI project kick-off meeting: Fabian Siegel, Amnah Othman, Christoph Reißfelder, Melissa Harbrücker, Christoph Brochhausen, Gabriele Pospiech, Markus Wartenberg, Anna Simeonova, Mattea Reinisch, Silke Zeißig, Kerstin Gierend, Veronica Teleanu, Maximilian Deng, Katrin Scharpf, Rrozalia HaxhibeqirI, Birgit Brand, Netalia Khan, Sebastian Hückesfeld, Armita Shahedmaeilinejad, Karin Arndt, Steffen Hirsch, Cécil Ronckers, Stefan Fröhling, Jens Jakob, Peter Hohenberger, Nadine Stroh. © Medizinische Fakultät Mannheim

New Research Project on Radiation-Induced Sarcomas Coordinated from Mannheim

_03/12/2026
The Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) is funding the TTRIS-CSI collaborative project with nearly €2 million.

Around half of all cancer patients receive radiation therapy during the course of their disease. In very rare cases, this initially successful treatment can lead to the development of a new tumor years later, known as a radiation-induced sarcoma (RIS). These tumors are aggressive and difficult to treat, posing major challenges for both patients and their treating physicians.

With the TTRIS-CSI collaborative project*, an interdisciplinary, nationwide research initiative is now being launched to systematically investigate the causes of these rare tumors. The project is coordinated by University Medicine Mannheim (UMM) and is funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) as part of its program on the late effects of cancer treatment, with a total of nearly €2 million over three years. The official project start date was February 1, 2026. Following extensive preparatory work, the project actively commenced on March 6, 2026, with a kick-off event.

Feb 28 – Rare Disease Day: New Information Pages on Radiation-Induced Sarcomas

02/20/2026 | by Koh

Radiation-induced sarcomas are rapidly growing tumors that develop in soft tissue or bone and may occur as a late consequence of earlier radiation therapy for cancer. They are considered rare diseases. Because diagnosing these tumors is challenging and can take months or even years, patients and their families often experience considerable uncertainty and emotional strain. To support people in this difficult situation, the Cancer Information Service of the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) now provides clear and accessible information about radiation-induced sarcomas. The new information resources are part of the TETRIS project funded by the DKFZ Hector Cancer Institute at University Medicine Mannheim.

Double ERC success for DKFZ researchers

01/27/2026 | by Koh

With its Proof of Concept (PoC) grants, the European Research Council (ERC) supports scientists in further developing the economic potential of their research results. Two scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have now been selected for this prestigious funding: Hellmut Augustin is developing novel mouse tumor models that will ensure better transferability of results while reducing the number of animals used in experiments. Michael Platten plans to further develop an AI-driven classifier to accelerate the complex production of therapeutic T cells for immunotherapy.

AI learns from animals: New approach to improve surgical imaging

01/26/2026 | by Koh

Scientists at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg University Hospital (UKHD), and Mannheim University Medical Center (UMM) are presenting a method that enables artificial intelligence (AI) to learn how to transfer medical image data from animals to humans. This “xeno-learning” could help make surgical procedures safer and more precise in the future – without relying on human training data.