The international impact
of CANSEARCH's scientific innovations
The CANSEARCH Research Platform in pediatric oncology and hematology at the University of Geneva has established itself as a global player thanks to the excellence of its freely shared scientific publications and its extensive collaborations with leading medical networks and international experts. By continuously developing international partnerships for its studies, the CANSEARCH Research Platform contributes to advancing research and accelerating discoveries in the fight against pediatric cancers.
Nearly 2,800 children worldwide benefit from the advances of its research
Over 38 countries we collaborate with
20% increase in 10-year survival for children who received a stem cell transplant
More than 411 research abstracts and summaries presented at international conferences since 2011
More than 20 researchers and collaborators work at the CANSEARCH Platform; in addition, around twenty collaborators also regularly interact with them (Bern, Basel, Paris, India, Los Angeles, etc.). Together, they collaborate with over 200 hospitals worldwide.
10 research areas are conducted at the CANSEARCH Research Platform, including individualized therapy, leukemias or hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, sickle cell disease or liver tumors, brain tumors, and neuroblastoma
More than 30 translational research clinical studies conducted directly from the lab to the patient's bedside at the HUG Pediatric Oncology and Hematology Unit
More than 376 scientific manuscripts published in prestigious journals (Journal of Clinical Oncology, The New England Journal of Medicine, Nature, Blood, etc.) since 2011
BaHOP, creation of a biobank. Established in Geneva in 2015 to store, exchange, and analyze samples according to international standards necessary for the development of pediatric oncology research, it currently contains over 12,000 samples.
Scientific partnership with Gustave Roussy Institute in Villejuif (France), one of Europe's most renowned oncology centers. This close collaboration accelerates access to innovative therapies and improves clinical protocols. It is materialized by the regular involvement of Dr. Brice Fresneau, a physician-researcher, within the CANSEARCH research platform since October 2025. This collaboration contributes to the ototoxicity project, thus illustrating CANSEARCH's embeddedness within an international network of excellence.
Scientific partnerships with leading networks and associations such as: SIOP (International Society of Paediatric Oncology), EBMT (European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation) and affiliation with the Faculty Center for Translational Biomarker Investigation (CITB) and the Translational Research Center in Oncology and Hematology (CRTOH), itself affiliated with the Swiss Cancer Center Leman (SCCL).
3 competitive SNSF grants – Swiss National Science Foundation grants obtained in 2025 attest to the excellence of the projects: a HUG 'relève' grant awarded to one of our physician-researchers, SNSF funding for the FINESS project ("Fathers in Need of Emotional and Social Support"), as well as approximately 1 million Swiss francs in support for the FRESCO project (GECCOS sub-project dedicated to ototoxicity).
in 2024 designated HUG's pediatric oncology and hematology as a center for all treatments of these childhood diseases, specifically assigning pediatric allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and the management of acute myeloid leukemias (AML). Furthermore, HUG is the leading center for the treatment of pediatric liver tumors, and it should be noted that liver tumor surgery is exclusively performed at HUG for all of Switzerland.
Our projects are accredited and co-funded by prestigious institutions such as the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), the Swiss Cancer League, the HUG Private Foundation, Kinder Krebs Schweiz, or the Swiss Biobank Platform.
Participation in international conferences and meetings
with exchanges and partnerships on research projects in Geneva, organization of conferences dedicated to pediatric liver tumors; pediatric palliative care; pharmacogenetics; as well as the SFGM-TC meeting, which brought together experts in bone marrow transplantation and cell therapies in the French-speaking world at the end of 2025 in Geneva.
The BuGenes study, CANSEARCH Platform's flagship project, is opening nineteen centers in Europe (including the United Kingdom), the Middle East, and Australia/New Zealand to recruit more participants. Three other centers in India, China, and Europe have expressed interest in participating in the BuGenes study. The MyeChild, FORUM, SCRIPT AML, RELIVE, and PHITT studies are expanding towards international data and biological sample collection and exchange, with the aim of improving knowledge of the pathologies being studied, such as liver tumors or blood cancers.
