June 2025 – May 2030
Karolinska Institutet
60 months
EUR 6 329 134, 26
Funded under Horizon Europe
PredictAYA is a five-year research project funded under Horizon Europe with the aim of improving long-term health outcomes for adolescents and young adults (AYAs) treated for cancer at ages 15-39 years.
Despite high survival rates, many AYAs face late effects of cancer treatment, such as fertility issues or other organ toxicities. Yet, these late effects are not well understood and addressed in current clinical guidelines.
PredictAYA responds to this gap by integrating clinical research, epidemiology, pharmacogenetics, and experimental science to identify who is most at risk of experiencing late effects and why.
PredictAYA finds and validates biomarkers (i.e., biological signals) in the body that show which cancer patients are at high risk for fertility damage and other organ toxicities following treatment. These biomarkers could be implemented in future clinical practice for screening and counselling – tailored to the individual patient.
PredictAYA develops a risk model for reproductive organ toxicity that can be used across Europe to predict reproductive harm based on patient´s genes and treatment history. This supports precision medicine approaches and better monitoring of AYA cancer survivors, allowing for earlier detection and intervention.
PredictAYA develops practical clinical guidelines and evidence-based recommendations for healthcare providers for managing late effects in AYA cancer survivors. These can support healthcare professionals to personalise treatments to the patient´s individual risk and needs, with the potential to better protect reproductive and general health.
PredictAYA integrates existing and new data from registries, biobanks and population-based European patient cohorts. With this, the project explores the incidence and severity of risk factors linked to cancer treatment toxicity for AYA patients. PredictAYA also investigates pregnancy risks for cancer survivors, the health of children born to AYA cancer survivors, as well as the safety and efficacy of fertility preservation methods.
PredictAYA results will be widely disseminated with key stakeholders such as patients, healthcare providers, caregivers, researchers, policy-makers and the general public. The project will generate data-driven insights to inform clinical guidelines. This will empower clinicians to personalise cancer care and shape policies that prioritise quality of life for young cancer survivors and their families across Europe.