6 Mar 2026
Two Bavaria-wide studies are receiving millions in funding to enable cancer patients in Bavaria to get access to innovative diagnostic procedures and treatments at an early stage.
For the first time, the Bayerisches Zentrum für Krebsforschung “BZKF” (Bavarian Cancer Research Center) is providing a total of 5.2 million euros of funding to support two dedicated clinical studies, which will be investigating new approaches for treating acute myeloid leukemia (ERASE-AML) and for providing more accurate diagnosis of prostate cancer (PRIME). The ERASE-AML study, initiated and led by Professor Marion Subklewe and her team at the LMU University Hospital Munich, was selected in a highly competitive Bavaria-wide process. All six university hospitals in Bavaria will be participating in both studies.
The aim of the BZKF funding is to enable cancer patients in Bavaria to get access to innovative diagnostic procedures and treatments at an early stage. With ERASE-AML, the LMU University Hospital Munich is leading the first Bavaria-wide investigator-initiated clinical trials within the BZKF network to translate innovative cell-based immunotherapies into clinical application.
The ERASE-AML study is focused on patients suffering from acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a particularly aggressive form of blood cancer. Despite modern treatments, the chances of a patient being cured are still limited, with only around three in ten patients surviving for five years following their diagnosis. The risk of recurrence is particularly high if minimal remnants of the leukemia are still left in the body after treatment or if genetic changes make the cancer cells highly resistant. For many patients, a transplant of foreign stem cells that have previously been tested to make sure they are a match (allogenic stem cell transplantation) represents their only chance of a cure. Despite this, patients frequently suffer recurrences of their cancer – and effective treatment options are then limited.
The study is examining a novel form of personalized cell-based immunotherapy. As part of this process, immune cells (T cells) from a stem cell donor are deliberately stimulated in the laboratory with several leukemia-specific protein building blocks (peptides). This produces a broadly effective immune response targeted against various characteristics of leukemia. In addition, the T cells are equipped with a chimeric co-stimulating antigen receptor (an artificially combined docking and activation structure – CARs) that is intended to boost the activity of the T cells in the body. These “trained” and specifically boosted T cells are given to patients who have a high risk of their cancer recurring or have experienced early recurrence following a stem cell transplant. The aim is to permanently eliminate any remaining leukemia cells and prevent recurrence. The study is being led by Dr. Veit Bücklein and Professor Marion Subklewe (LMU Hospital Munich). For this investigator-initiated study, the LMU team will receive three million euros in funding.
“ERASE means that we’re able to test an innovative cell therapy for treating AML in a clinical study for the first time,” says Marion Subklewe. “The close cooperation in the BZKF network is particularly crucial here. It’s only thanks to this structure spanning different locations that we’re able to work together to translate new scientific ideas quickly into clinical application.”
The PRIME study is examining how prostate cancer – one of the most common types of cancer affecting men – can be detected more accurately and in a less invasive way for patients. Up until now, if a patient has an elevated PSA level in their blood and a magnetic resonance imaging scan reveals something abnormal, the next step has usually been to remove some tissue (biopsy). For many patients, this examination causes a great deal of both physical and mental stress – it is unpleasant, painful and carries the risk of infections.
The PRIME study aims to investigate whether additional modern imaging using positron emission tomography (PET/CT) can improve diagnostic accuracy. The PSMA PET/CT scan makes it possible to reveal prostate cancer cells with even greater accuracy, using a very small amount of a radioactive drug. In the study, 150 men with an abnormal MRI scan will also undergo this examination. Depending on the result, the intention is then to perform fewer or more targeted biopsies to provide a reliable diagnosis of prostate cancer requiring treatment. The aim is to detect aggressive tumors reliably at an early stage and also prevent any unnecessary interventions. The study is being led by Professor Matthias Eiber (TUM Hospital Munich) and Professor Matthias Heck (University Hospital Augsburg). It is receiving 2.2 million euros of funding.
Both studies will be conducted across all six BZKF locations: Augsburg, Erlangen, Munich (LMU and TUM), Regensburg and Würzburg. “These studies mark an important milestone for the BZKF,” says Professor Andreas Mackensen, Director of the BZKF. “Patients throughout Bavaria will be able to participate in early clinical studies using innovative approaches – without having to travel long distances.”
Patient representative Ortwin Thiel adds: “What the launch of these studies gives patients is above all hope – hope that there’ll be more effective therapies to treat high-risk leukemia and less invasive, more accurate ways of diagnosing prostate cancer. It sends a strong signal that innovative research is closely interconnected here in Bavaria, prioritizing patient-centered care.”