(Vienna, 02 July 2026) At the 67th Austrian Surgical Congress (17–19 June 2026, Salzburg Congress), the Division of Visceral Surgery at the Department of General Surgery, MedUni Vienna, received no fewer than three awards. Rebecca Zirnbauer and Johannes Längle received the Theodor Billroth Prize and the Research Prize of the Austrian Society for Surgery (ÖGCH), as well as the Prize of the Austrian Society for Surgical Oncology (ACO-ASSO) – with a combined prize fund of 15,000 euros.
At the 67th Austrian Surgical Congress, which took place from 17 to 19 June 2026 at the Salzburg Congress under the motto ‘Where are the limits?’, the translational cancer research carried out by the Division of Visceral Surgery was honoured with three awards. The Austrian Society for Surgery (ÖGCH) and the Austrian Society for Surgical Oncology (ACO-ASSO) thus recognised work that closely links clinical and experimental oncology.
ÖGCH Theodor Billroth Prize for Rebecca Zirnbauer
Rebecca Zirnbauer received the ÖGCH’s Theodor Billroth Prize for the best scientific work in the field of clinical and experimental surgery. The award recognised a study in which, for the first time, certain short RNA segments – known as tRNA fragments – were identified as prognostic biomarkers for liver metastases from colorectal cancer. Liver metastases are the most common cause of cancer-related deaths in colorectal cancer.
Using small RNA sequencing, the team analysed tumour samples from patients who had undergone surgery. The results revealed a contrasting picture: whilst 94% of tRNA fragments originating from the cell nucleus were associated with a poor prognosis, mitochondrial fragments indicated a more favourable outcome in around a quarter of cases (26%) – regardless of established clinical parameters. The study was published in the Journal of Translational Medicine.
ÖGCH Science Prize awarded to Johannes Längle
Johannes Längle was awarded the ÖGCH Science Prize for the best scientific paper in the field of clinical research . The award-winning randomised phase 2 trial investigated a dual immunotherapy regimen comprising ipilimumab and nivolumab in combination with chemoradiotherapy for locally advanced rectal cancer.
Key finding: Immunotherapy prior to surgery did not lead to an increase in surgical complications. At the same time, 37% of patients who underwent surgery achieved a major pathological response and 22% achieved complete remission, with only 6% experiencing severe immune-mediated adverse effects. It is noteworthy that clinical activity was observed despite the microsatellite-stable tumour type, which had previously been considered resistant to immunotherapy. The study was published in JAMA Network Open.
ACO-ASSO Prize 2026 for Rebecca Zirnbauer
Rebecca Zirnbauer has once again been awarded the 2026 ACO-ASSO Prize for the best work in the field of clinical and experimental surgical oncology. The award-winning work, drawn from the prospective CHINOREC study, describes a previously little-noticed side effect of neoadjuvant immunotherapy: patients with rectal cancer who received immune checkpoint inhibitors in combination with chemoradiotherapy developed severe muscle damage (myositis) with surprising frequency.
Six out of 50 patients (12 per cent) had histologically confirmed myositis – significantly higher than the usual incidence of less than 1 per cent. The team was able to demonstrate that CD8-positive T-cells in particular cause the damage, and to establish cardiac troponin cTnI as a biomarker that reliably distinguishes between cardiac and skeletal muscle involvement. As the condition can be associated with high mortality if left untreated, early diagnosis is crucial. The interdisciplinary study was published in the journal MedComm.
Publications
Differential prognostic roles and clinical implications of mitochondrial and genomic tRNA-derived fragments in colorectal liver metastases.
Zirnbauer R, Ammon D, Renner A, Hartman N, Kalinina P, Starlinger P, Stremitzer S, Schwarz C, Kaczirek K, Bergmann M, Pils D, Laengle J. J Transl Med. doi: 10.1186/s12967-025-06850-3
Dual immune checkpoint inhibition in combination with neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy in rectal cancer: A randomized clinical trial.
Laengle J, Kuehrer I, Kulu A, Kabiljo J, Ammon D, Zirnbauer R, Stift A, Herbst F, Dauser D, Monschein M, Razek P, Haegele S, Biebl M, Geinitz H, Petzer AL, Hulla W, Müllauer L, Pils D, Widder J, Bittermann C, Tamandl D, Laengle F, Schmid R, Bergmann M. JAMA Netw Open. 2025;8(8):e2527769. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.27769
Incidence and Immunopathology of Myositis in Rectal Cancer Patients Treated With Neoadjuvant Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors and Chemoradiotherapy: Findings From the CHINOREC Trial.
Zirnbauer R, Hametner S, Bergler-Klein J, Kuehrer I, Kulu A, Ammon D, Kabiljo J, Stift A, Schmid R, Müllauer L, Bittermann C, Laengle F, Machold K, Blüml S, Bergmann M, Laengle J. MedComm. 2025;6:e70275. doi: 10.1002/mco2.70275