On Friday, 17th June 2011, the Comprehensive Cancer Centre at the Medical University of Vienna was included as a member by the Organization of European Cancer Institutes (OECI) at its general meeting in Amsterdam. .
This puts the CCC among 73 cancer centres, including such well-known and long-established ones as the Institut Gustave Roussy in Paris, the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm and the Instituto Tumori in Milan. This is not only a special achievement for the CCC, but also a major opportunity to facilitate the exchange of experience, knowledge and resources.
The OECI is to European cancer centres what the EU is to the individual countries of Europe. It develops visions for the best possible care of cancer patients, for research and training in oncology. The OECI supports its members by encouraging collaboration between different national cancer centres and representing the centres' interests at EU level.
Cancer organisations known to us at EU level include ESMO or EORTC, for example, which each have their own special, well-defined roles. The OECI works with these - and many other - organisations, bundling strengths, integrating goals and pathways to create a holistic perspective. The model of comprehensiveness is the driving force behind the OECI.
By appointing the CCC of the MedUni Vienna as a member, the OECI is resolving a historically significant blank spot on the map of cancer centres: it was at a conference in the Redoutensaal of Vienna's Hofburg Palace that this European organisation was founded in 1977.