History of the U-CAN project

Events and milestones per year

The Swedish Government announces the launch of ‘Strategic Research Areas’ in budget proposition 2009/10:1
Uppsala university (UU) in collaboration with Umeå university (UmU), Stockholm university (SU) and Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan (KTH), applies for the institution of a strategic research area on cancer, which is consequently approved

Ethics permit for U-CAN is granted. Principal Investigator of the project is professor Bengt Glimelius
Work concerning the start-up of diagnosis groups and establishment of protocols and procedures within the project is initiated
U-CAN starts its sample collection in the diagnostic areas colorectal cancer, brain tumours, prostate cancer, haematological malignancies, and lymphoma
Total number of research persons included in U-CAN: 470
Total number of research applications: 0

As a result of close collaboration between Uppsala University Hospital, Uppsala University and Uppsala Biobank, the infrastructure for 'Hospital Integrated Biobanking' launches to meet the need stipulated by U-CAN regarding 24 hour/all year round biobanking and traceability. The Uppsala model for hospital integrated biobanking will eventually proceed to serve as a model for national investments in biobanking infrastructure in Sweden
Total number of patients included in U-CAN: 2 027
Total number of research applications: 1

Collection of gynaecological cancer starts in Uppsala
Collection of haematological malignancies and lymphoma is regionalised and starts in Falun
Total number of patients included in U-CAN: 3 786
Total number of research applications: 4

Collection of lung cancer starts in Uppsala
Collection of lung cancer is regionalised and starts in Falun and Gävle
The report resulting from the evaluation of the Strategic Research Areas is presented (link to report, external site). U-CAN receives very high marks in the report, continued funding is recommended and it is concluded that “the project is on the frontline in an international perspective” and further that “the project is developing with high standard”
Total number of patients included in U-CAN: 9 787
Total number of research applications: 22

U-CAN starts a collaboration with the European biobanking infrastructure, BBMRI-ERIC (link to external site)
Total number of patients included in U-CAN: 12 370
Total number of research applications: 40

A new research participant information and informed consent form is introduced across diagnoses, replacing the previous documents that were diagnosis-specific
Several important changes to the ethical permit are made, including:
- Expansion of number of diagnoses admissible for inclusion in U-CAN
- The possibility to collect more diversified sample types
- The possibility to include a control cohort comprised of patients with other diagnoses than cancer
- Ethical permit to create the IT structure and database later named Octopus
Collection of esophageal- and gastric cancers starts in Uppsala
U-CAN announces a call for grants and approves funding for part of salary for PhD students and Post Docs in 4 research projects for a period of 4 years
Total number of patients included in U-CAN: 14 997
Total number of research applications: 64

Work on creating U-CANs IT-structure and database commences in collaboration with Uppsala Biobank and Uppsala Clinical Research Center
Collection of head and neck cancers starts in Uppsala
The U-CAN ethical permit is amended to include:
- The possibility of including healthy volunteers as a control population
- The possibility to include patients with all types of cancer using the U-CAN framework
The U-CAN research person information and the ethical permit are adjusted in accordance with GDPR
Total number of patients included in U-CAN: 17 538
Total number of research applications: 85

U-CAN launches a unified and performance-based reimbursement model to compensate the health care system for sample collection work in U-CAN
The first version of the U-CAN IT-system Octopus is brought into operation
A new version of the U-CAN questionnaire is developed and implemented
Collection of samples is started in Uppsala for the diagnostic area cancer in organ transplanted patients
Total number of patients included in U-CAN: 19 756
Total number of research applications: 105

The Cancer-Covid collection starts April 1, only two months after the Covid pandemic reaches Sweden. This rapid start was made possible by the already present U-CAN infrastructure and ethical permits.
Three regional U-CAN collection nodes in Sweden (Falun, Karlstad, Gävle) are integrated into the IT-system Octopus
Total number of patients included in U-CAN: 22 328
Total number of research applications: 128

Collection of liver-, bildeduct- and pancreatic cancers starts in Uppsala
Collection of a select group of haematological malignancies starts in Västerås
Collection of colorectal cancer and controls (endoscopy patients) is regionalised and starts in Gävle
Total number of patients included in U-CAN: 23 696
Total number of research applications: 157

With a budget of 2 MSEK, U-CAN announces the possibility for financial research support for projects using U-CAN samples and/or data during 2022-2023
U-CAN celebrates its 12-year anniversary with a whole day of lectures from scientist from all over Sweden that have been using U-CAN-material for their research
Total number of patients included in U-CAN: 25 685
Total number of research applications: 171

Samples in U-CAN are made searchable in the Locator database at the European Research Infrastructure for biobanking and biomolecular resources, BBMRI-ERIC
Total number of patients included in U-CAN: 29 317
Total number of research applications: 223