Riganti C. COST ACTION - New diagnostic and therapeutic tools against multidrug resistant tumors - Agreement n. CA17104 **

STRATAGEM is a COST action. The European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) is a EU funding organisation for the creation of research networks. For more information on COST actions and how they work please visit the COST website. STRATAGEM will build the first multidisciplinary network – to include academic laboratories, research institutes, and small and medium enterprises (SMEs), with a wide range of high-level and non-overlapping expertise – that will aim to improve both the diagnosis and therapy of multidrug resistant (MDR) solid tumours. The scientific community currently only has limited knowledge about the biomarkers and therapeutic tools that can be used against MDR tumours; there are no predictive/diagnostic algorithms for MDR tumours ex ante and all previous therapies against MDR tumours have failed. The key challenge of STRATAGEM is to fill these gaps by producing a comprehensive, open and user-friendly platform of knowledge on MDR tumours, by identifying new diagnostic/predictive biomarkers, and producing new, safe compounds that can be used for the personalised treatment of MDR tumours. Up to 70% of solid tumours are resistant at diagnosis. This means poor life quality and poor prognosis for patients, and high management costs for European healthcare systems. This Action is working to improve the diagnosis and treatment of patients with MDR tumours and reduce the costs of their management. Finally, the Action aims to raise the level of European research on MDRs, and thus reduce the disparity in research quality between EU countries and ITCs, providing the necessary training for European Early Career Investigators (ECIs) to grow as future independent research leaders, regardless of location, age or gender.