Around 20 participants are currently completing the first training programme. They are learning how clinical research works, what role studies play and how modern, personalised cancer therapies are developed. As patient ambassadors, they will then play an active role in the evaluation of scientific projects and advise research teams. The approach follows an international trend. In modern oncology, there is a growing conviction that medical progress does not come from technological innovations alone. Equally important is the question of what needs patients actually have and what challenges they have to overcome in everyday life. For the cancer centres in Leipzig and Jena, ONCOlleg is therefore much more than just a training programme. It is a building block for a new form of research that no longer views patients merely as recipients of medical services, but as active co-creators. This turns personal experience into a resource for better therapies and cancer medicine that is more closely orientated towards people's needs.
Press release from "Universitätsklinikum Leipzig" dated 19 May 2026