The Transpan Newsletter 01 – October 2026
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ISSUE 01 / OCTOBER 2026 The TRANSPAN |
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01 / THE NETWORK
IT'S THE END OF TRANSPAN AS WE KNOW IT (AND I FEEL FINE)*
 TRANSPAN Action Chairs | The EU-COST grant for TRANSPAN has officially ended on 10 October 2026, but TRANSPAN does not end here. |
We all have put a lot of work into building this network, and we are hoping to keep it alive for the foreseeable future. While we will not have anymore financial resources for TRANSPAN, there are a number of things that will remain: the website, the mailing list, our social media presence, possibly virtual workshops and training schools. The webinars will continue.
Most importantly, we remain committed to using TRANSPAN to facilitate new research projects for research on pancreatic cancer. As you are already aware, we are working on an application for a new COST grant that should follow up on the steps of TRANSPAN.
To keep everybody on the same page, we are starting this newsletter. The idea is to provide a quick summary of important things happening in the TRANSPAN community, which will go out periodically on the website and on the mailing list. We hope that you will enjoy it and that it will keep up the interest.
Federico, on behalf of the website/newsletter task force.
*A reference to the R.E.M. song "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0GFRcFm-aY
02 / PUBLICATIONS
PUBLICATIONS: WHAT THE NETWORK HAS PRODUCED
| 69 papers identified | 39 listed on the website | 30 being added |
Publications are the main output of TRANSPAN, so they open every issue of the newsletter. A cross-check of the Publications page on the website against a Europe PMC search for the Action number (CA21116) shows that the network's output exceeds what the website currently reflects.
The numbers. Counting both sources, we have identified 69 papers linked to TRANSPAN. Of these, 39 are already listed on the website, and 30 more were found through the search and are now being added. Of the papers whose publication year is known, most appeared in 2025 (28 papers), with 11 in 2024, 11 in 2026 so far and 6 in 2023, so output has grown steadily as the network matured.
The special issue. The thematic issue of Seminars in Cancer Biology (https://www.sciencedirect.com/special-issue/10T075Z5XK9), edited by Dr. Luca Morelli, is now closed. It brought together review articles written by members across surgery, oncology, gastroenterology, pharmacology, genetics, epidemiology, informatics, molecular biology and pathology.
The second round. A second series of articles is now in preparation. It is more varied than the first: it includes both reviews and protocols, and since there is no special issue agreed with a journal, the papers will appear in different journals. We will announce them in this newsletter as they come out, and they will also be listed on the Publications page of the website.
The themes. The papers fall into a few broad areas:
- Risk and susceptibility: genetic variants, early-onset disease, sex differences, the exposome and lifestyle, Mendelian randomisation studies and the gut microbiome.
- Early detection and biomarkers: liquid biopsy, serum-based tests, Raman spectroscopy, machine learning and extracellular vesicles.
- Tumour biology: splicing alterations, epigenetics, molecular subtypes, perineural invasion, fibroblasts, macrophages and the tumour microenvironment.
- Treatment and resistance: PARP and KRAS inhibitors, new drug candidates, senescence and chemoresistance, and preclinical models such as organoids and 3D cultures.
| Explore all publications → |
If you published a paper that acknowledges COST Action CA21116 and you do not see it on the website, please tell us (see "Share your news" below).
03 / WEBINARS
The webinar series continues
The TRANSPAN webinar series continues. Webinars occur monthly on Microsoft Teams and are recorded. We have secured speakers until the end of the year, and the series will continue in 2027.
NEXT WEBINAR · 22 OCTOBER Molecular mechanisms underlying resistance to therapies in PDACSpeaker: Prof. Elisa Giovannetti (Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and Fondazione Pisana per la Scienza, Pisa) Date: Thursday 22 October 2026, 14:00-15:00 (Central European Summer Time) Format: online on Microsoft Teams, 30-45 minutes of presentation followed by discussion. The session is recorded and certificates of attendance are provided.
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All webinars and recordings: https://transpan.eu/transpan-webinars/ and on our YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@TRANSPANCostaction).
04 / COMMUNITY
SHARE YOUR NEWS
This newsletter relies on your contributions. We would like to hear about:
- new publications that acknowledge TRANSPAN (CA21116)
- events, conferences and webinars
- open positions in your group
- new projects and grants
- requests or proposals for collaboration
A couple of sentences is plenty. Send your updates to: transpan.ca21116@gmail.com or use the form below.
| Share your news → |
The newsletter is planned monthly. Updates received before then will be included in the next issue.
Thank you for reading, and see you in the next issue, shiny happy TRANSPANers.*
*A nod to R.E.M.'s "Shiny Happy People": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYOKMUTTDdA
COST Action CA21116 · 2022–2026
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