Μake us preferred on Google A Greek research network that has provided thousands of cancer patients with access to advanced molecular testing is facing an uncertain future after its funding from the EU-backed Recovery Fund ended, raising questions about whether the program can continue operating.
The Hellenic Network of Molecular Oncology (EDIMO), established in 2022, connects 10 research institutions and laboratories and has developed 45 specialized analyses. It has also created 35 jobs for specialized scientists and brought together more than 120 doctors.
But the network has stopped accepting new samples, while the future employment of its scientific staff and the continuation of its operations depend on whether additional funding can be secured through Greece’s Public Investment Program.
According to information obtained by To BHMA, the Ministry of Development has not ruled out continuing the network, although no specific commitment has yet been made.
The uncertainty threatens not only a research infrastructure built over several years, but also patients’ access to molecular oncology tests that can cost up to €1,000 in the private sector.
From a pilot project to a national research network
The initiative began in May 2018 with the establishment of the National Network of Precision Medicine in Oncology (EDIAO), an effort to develop molecular oncology research and testing capabilities in Greece. The project received approximately €5.38 million through a settlement between the Greek state and Siemens.
Initially, four Precision Medicine Units were established: two in the Attica region, one in Thessaloniki and one in Crete. The Centre for Research & Technology Hellas (CERTH) coordinated the initiative.
The project produced significant results. According to official EDIAO figures, 5,527 tests had been conducted by Oct. 31, 2021, with 450 doctors from across Greece collaborating with the network.
For the first time in Greece, the initiative also connected laboratory facilities and brought their data and results together in a centralized repository.
The pilot phase ended on Dec. 31, 2021, but the expertise, partnerships and need for advanced molecular testing remained. The next stage began in 2022 with the creation of EDIMO, coordinated by the Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH).
The new network received approximately €3.78 million in funding, including €3.34 million from the Recovery Fund, with the remainder coming from national resources through the Public Investment Program.
In less than three years, EDIMO connected 10 research facilities, laboratories and more than 120 doctors, while developing 45 specialized analyses. Its future is now uncertain following the end of its funding.
Tests that can cost up to €1,000
EDIMO coordinator George Stratakis, a professor, said the initiative required about a year of preparation before it began receiving its first samples in 2022.
The tests covered common cancers, including breast cancer and melanoma, as well as blood cancers, rare tumors and hereditary cancer syndromes.
Many patients would struggle to afford such testing privately, Stratakis said. Extensive genetic testing can cost between €800 and €1,000.
These analyses are particularly important for families with an inherited predisposition to cancer. Identifying a genetic alteration can lead to genetic counseling and targeted screening for relatives, creating opportunities for prevention and earlier diagnosis.
Ioannis Liontos, an oncologist, assistant professor and secretary-general of the Hellenic Society of Medical Oncology (HeSMO), said cancer treatment is gradually moving away from a generalized approach toward therapies targeting specific molecular changes in cancer cells.
“The way our drugs are targeted has now changed,” he said, explaining that doctors need to understand the biology of a tumor to make use of these newer treatments.
The long-term goal is for every patient to have a broader molecular profile of their cancer from the time of diagnosis. Such information can help guide treatment decisions, assess prognosis and, in some cases, identify an inherited predisposition to cancer.
Liontos cautioned, however, that EDIMO was designed primarily as a research and laboratory infrastructure, not as a certified clinical service. Research findings therefore cannot automatically replace accredited diagnostic tests.
How molecular testing can guide treatment
Georgios Simaiakis, an endocrinologist at the 401 General Military Hospital of Athens and a member of EDIMO’s advisory committee, highlighted how molecular analysis can help doctors identify genetic alterations in tumor tissue preserved in pathology laboratories.
That information may guide the selection of targeted treatment when an appropriate therapy is available, he explained.
New targeted therapies can produce significant results for some patients. In certain cases, even people with metastatic cancer can experience substantial tumor regression while maintaining a good quality of life.
Molecular information can also prove useful at later stages of the disease, even when targeted treatment is not immediately required.
There are potential economic benefits as well. Better-informed treatment decisions can help avoid expensive drugs unlikely to benefit a patient and reduce complications that may lead to additional hospitalizations.
“An effort is made, the funding ends, and everything stops,” Simaiakis said, describing a recurring problem that makes it difficult to develop precision medicine systematically in Greece.
A digital cancer registry remains operational
Beyond the testing itself, one of EDIMO’s major achievements has been the development of a digital registry of cancer patients linked to Greece’s National Neoplasm Registry.
Stratakis described the accumulated data as “a gold mine of knowledge,” saying it could support future research and improve understanding of the molecular characteristics of cancer among the Greek population.
The end of the network’s funding does not mean that the results already produced will be lost, he clarified. The digital registry remains operational, and patients already included in it retain their information.
The immediate uncertainty concerns whether the wider network can continue functioning, accept new samples and retain its specialized workforce. Without additional resources, a research initiative that has connected laboratories and doctors across Greece risks losing its capacity to build on the work already completed.
