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Cancer2026-10-08T15:01:55+03:00

Cancer Team

Overview

The mission of the UNIC Cancer Research Group is to enhance our understanding of the cancer landscape in Cyprus  and internationally by fostering close collaborations among researchers with diverse expertise and educating the public and health professionals about cancer prevention and management, with the ultimate goal of saving the lives and improving the quality of life of cancer patients.

Our Objectives

  • Collaborate to secure funding for research by developing joint research proposals for local and international submission.
  • Promote and enhance the impact of our research through participation in scientific and public seminars on cancer.
  • Enhance our knowledge of the latest cancer research findings through information exchanges with the scientific community.
  • Improve the visibility and impact of our work through collaborative publication of relevant articles.
  • Train new researchers in cancer research by mentoring graduate and medical students interested in cancer-related projects.
  • Bridge the gap between basic science, clinical science, and public health by promoting translational research and an interdisciplinary approach.
  • Bridge cancer patient groups with grass roots initiative
  • Promote implementation science for cancer prevention
  • Support ethically informed and culturally responsive cancer care through empirical research and training of health professional learners.

Primary Research Areas

  • Molecular Biology
    • Identify molecular factors responsible for tamoxifen resistance in breast cancer and investigate the role of natural compounds in cancer treatment and prevention.
  • Pharmacognosy
    • Evaluate the anticancer activities of understudied natural sources, such as plant species, to utilise them or their constituents as potential novel therapeutics or preventatives against cancers.
  • Cancer Biology and Oncology
    • Understand the molecular pathways involved in tumourigenesis.
  • Lifestyle Medicine
    • Investigate how various lifestyle factors influence cancer prevention and management, emphasising the importance of lifestyle medicine in the prevention of cancer and the quality of life of cancer survivors.
  • Medical Statistics and Cancer Epidemiology
    • Investigate the pathways involved in the protective association between the Mediterranean diet and cancer, and examine cancer incidence and survival trends in Cyprus using data from the Cyprus Cancer Registry. Research also focuses on reducing delays in cancer diagnoses, particularly multiple myeloma, by developing diagnostic tools to alert clinicians to its possibility based on presenting symptoms.
  • Health Promotion and Implementation Science
    • Promote early detection and prevention of breast and cervical cancers through the development, implementation, and evaluation of community-based interventions, guided by behavioural and community-based theoretical frameworks.
  • Cytopathology
    • Maintain quality control of cytological and histological samples related to cervical cancer diagnosis.
  • Social Sciences in Cancer Care & Medical Education
    • Investigate aspects of decision-making, patient participation, and communication in cancer care with respect to how patients’ diverse backgrounds, identities and levels of health literacy shape their experiences in clinical contexts; utilise empirical research findings and participatory methods to develop targeted interventions and training of medical students and health professionals.

Coordinator

  • Eleni Tolma,MPH, PhD
    • Associate Professor in Social Behavioral Sciences/Health Promotion and Public Health

Members

  • Eleni Tolma,MPH, PhD
    • Associate Professor in Social Behavioral Sciences/Health Promotion and Public Health

Selected Publication

Christiana Charalambous

  • Vasincu A, Luca SV, Charalambous C, Neophytou CM, Skalicka-Woźniak K, Miron A (2022). “LC-HRMS/MS phytochemical profiling of Vernonia kotschyana Sch. Bip. ex Walp.: Potential involvement of highly-oxygenated stigmastane-type saponins in cancer cell viability, apoptosis and intracellular ROS production”. South African Journal of Botany, Vol. 144, pp. 83-91.
  • Constantinou C, Charalambous C, Kanakis D, Kolokotroni O, Constantinou AI (2021). “Update on the Anti-Cancer Potency of Tocotrienols and α-Tocopheryl Polyethylene Glycol 1000 Succinate on Leukemic Cell Lines”. Nutr Cancer, Vol. 73 No.8, pp. 1302-1308.
  • Charalambous C, Pitta CA and Constantinou AI. (2013). Equol enhances tamoxifen’s anti-tumor activity by induction of caspase-dependent apoptosis in MCF-7 breast cancer cells. BMC Cancer.13:238-248. (Paper under category highly accessed).
  • Charalambous C, Pen L, Su Y, Milan J, Chen TC, Hofman FH (2005). IL-8 differentially regulates migration in tumor-derived and normal human brain endothelial cells. Cancer Research. 65:10347-54.

Elena Critselis

  • Shi A, Fong KHA, Rodomar C, Demetriou CA, Kolokotroni O, Philippou E, Salameh P, Mosquera MC, Papageorgiou E, Critselis E, Marcou Y, Constantinou C, Quattrocchi A. Barriers and facilitators for adopting healthy lifestyles in breast cancer survivors: a scoping review protocol. JBI Evid Synth. 2023 Nov 1;21(11):2218-2226. doi: 10.11124/JBIES-22-00395
  • Heath AK, Muller DC, van den Brandt PA, Critselis E, Gunter M, Vineis P, Weiderpass E, Boeing H, Ferrari P, Merritt MA, Rostgaard-Hansen AL, Tjønneland A, Overvad K, Katzke V, Srour B, Masala G, Sacerdote C, Ricceri F, Pasanisi F, Bueno-de-Mesquita B, Downward GS, Skeie G, Sandanger TM, Crous-Bou M, Rodríguez-Barranco M, Amiano P, Huerta JM, Ardanaz E, Drake I, Johansson M, Johansson I, Key T, Papadimitriou N, Riboli E, Tzoulaki I, Tsilidis KK. Diet-wide association study of 92 foods and nutrients and lung cancer risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study and the Netherlands Cohort Study. Int J Cancer. 2022 Dec 1;151(11):1935-1946. doi: 10.1002/ijc.34211.
  • Papadimitriou N, Bouras E, van den Brandt PA, Muller DC, Papadopoulou A, Heath AK, Critselis E, Gunter MJ, Vineis P, Ferrari P, Weiderpass E, Boeing H, Bastide N, Merritt MA, Lopez DS, Bergmann MM, Perez-Cornago A, Schulze M, Skeie G, Srour B, Eriksen AK, Boden S, Johansson I, Nøst TH, Lukic M, Ricceri F, Ericson U, Huerta JM, Dahm CC, Agnoli C, Amiano PE, Tjønneland A, Gurrea AB, Bueno-de-Mesquita B, Ardanaz E, Berntsson J, Sánchez MJ, Tumino R, Panico S, Katzke V, Jakszyn P, Masala G, Derksen JWG, Quirós JR, Severi G, Cross AJ, Riboli E, Tzoulaki I, Tsilidis KK. A Prospective Diet-Wide Association Study for Risk of Colorectal Cancer in EPIC. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2022 Apr;20(4):864-873.e13. doi: 10.1016/j.cgh.2021.04.028.
  • Papadimitriou N, Markozannes G, Kanellopoulou A, Critselis E, Alhardan S, Karafousia V, Kasimis JC, Katsaraki C, Papadopoulou A, Zografou M, Lopez DS, Chan DSM, Kyrgiou M, Ntzani E, Cross AJ, Marrone MT, Platz EA, Gunter MJ, Tsilidis KK. An umbrella review of the evidence associating diet and cancer risk at 11 anatomical sites. Nat Commun. 2021 Jul 28;12(1):4579. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-24861-8.
  • Critselis E, Rava M, Marquez M, Lygirou V, Chatzicharalambous D, Liapi P, Lichtinghagen R, Brand K, Cecchini L, Vlahou A, Malats N, Zoidakis J. Diagnostic and Prognostic Performance of Secreted Protein Acidic and Rich in Cysteine (SPARC) Assay for Detecting Primary and Recurrent Urinary Bladder Cancer. Proteomics Clin Appl. 2019 Mar;13(2):e1800148. doi: 10.1002/prca.201800148.

Christiana Demetriou

  • Shi A, Fong KHA, Rodomar C, Demetriou CA, Kolokotroni O, Philippou E, Salameh P, Mosquera MC, Papageorgiou E, Critselis E, Marcou Y, Constantinou C, Quattrocchi A. Barriers and facilitators for adopting healthy lifestyles in breast cancer survivors: a scoping review protocol. JBI Evid Synth. 2023 Nov 1;21(11):2218-2226. doi: 10.11124/JBIES-22-00395. PMID: 37395535.
  • Beeks VV, Achilleos S, Quattrocchi A, Pallari CT, Critselis E, Salameh P, Rahmanian Haghighi MR, Rodriguez-Llanes JM, Ambrosio G, Artemiou A, Gabel J, Bennett CM, Cuthbertson J, Zimmermann C, Schernhammer ES, Costa AJL, de Carvalho LF, Lobato JCP, Athanasiadou M, Critchley JA, Goldsmith LP, Kandelaki L, Glushkova N, Davletov K, Semenova Y, Erzen I, Verstiuk O, Alekkou D, Polemitis A, Charalambous A, Demetriou CA; C-MOR Consortium. Cause-Specific Excess Mortality During the COVID-19 Pandemic (2020-2021) in 12 Countries of the C-MOR Consortium. J Epidemiol Glob Health. 2024 Jun;14(2):337-348. doi: 10.1007/s44197-024-00242-4. Epub 2024 May 22. PMID: 38775902; PMCID: PMC11176135.
  • Demetriou CA, Raaschou-Nielsen O, Loft S, Møller P, Vermeulen R, Palli D, Chadeau-Hyam M, Xun WW, Vineis P. Biomarkers of ambient air pollution and lung cancer: a systematic review. Occup Environ Med. 2012 Sep;69(9):619-27. doi: 10.1136/oemed-2011-100566. Epub 2012 Jul 7. PMID: 22773658.

Eirini Kampriani

  • Mathews H., Burke, N., and Kampriani E. (eds.) (2016) Anthropologies of Cancer in Transnational Worlds. Routledge Studies in Anthropology Series. New York: Routledge. ISBN-13: 978-0815346470
  • Gibbon, S., Kampriani, E. & zur Nieden, A. (2012) “Pacientes de BRCA em Cuba, Grécia e Alemanha: perspectivas comparativas sobre saúde pública, o estado e a reprodução parcial de sujeitos ‘neo- liberais’”, in C. Fonseca, F. Rohden, P. e Machado (eds.) Ciências na Vida: Antropologia da ciência em perspectiva. Sao Paolo: Terceiro Nome. (in Portuguese, for the Brazilian volume Life Sciences: perspectives in the anthropology of science) ISBN: 978-8578160982
  • Gibbon S., Joseph, G., Kalender, U., Kampriani, E., Mozersky, J., zur Nieden, A. & Palfner, S. (2010). Introduction to the Special Section, Perspectives on globalizing genomics: the case of ‘BRCA’ breast cancer gene research and medical practices. BioSocieties 5(4): 407-414. DOI: 10.1057/biosoc.2010.36
  • Gibbon, S., Kampriani, E. & zur Nieden, A. (2010). BRCA patients in Cuba, Greece and Germany: Comparative perspectives on public health, the state and the partial reproduction of ‘neoliberal’ subjects. BioSocieties 5(4): 440-466. DOI: 10.1057/biosoc.2010.28

Panayiotis Karanis

  • Fatemi M, Niyyati M, Rouhani S, Karamati SA, Mirjalali H, Karanis P. Contamination of fresh vegetables in municipal stores with pathogenic Acanthamoebagenotypes; a public health concern. Int J Environ Health Res. 2023;33(10):1010-1021. doi:10.1080/09603123.2022.2067328
  • Mahmoudi MR, Zebardast N, Masangkay FR, Karanis P. Detection of potentially pathogenic free-living amoebae from the Caspian Sea and hospital ward dust of teaching hospitals in Guilan, Iran. J Water Health. 2021;19(2):278-287. doi:10.2166/wh.2021.240
  • Mahmoudi MR, Hasani H, Tsiami A, et al. Intestinal protozoan and helminthic infections among hemodialysis and cancer patients. Parasitol Res. 2020;119(9):3053-3059. doi:10.1007/s00436-020-06774-5

Constantinos Koshiaris

  • Nicholson B D, Virdee P, Aveyard P, Price S J, Hobbs F D R, Koshiaris C, Willie Hamilton. Prioritising primary care patients with unexpected weight loss for cancer investigation: diagnostic accuracy study (update) BMJ 2024; 387 :e080199 doi:10.1136/bmj-2024-080199
  • Koshiaris C, Van den Bruel A, Oke JL, Nicholson BD, Shephard E, Braddick M, Hamilton W. Early detection of multiple myeloma in primary care using blood tests: a case-control study in primary care. Br J Gen Pract. 2018 Sep;68(674):e586-e593. doi: 10.3399/bjgp18X698357. Epub 2018 Aug 13. PMID: 30104326; PMCID: PMC6104875.
  • C Koshiaris, A Van den Bruel, BD Nicholson, S Lay-Flurrie, FR Hobbs, JL Oke. Clinical prediction tools to identify patients at highest risk of myeloma in primary care: a retrospective open cohort study Br J Gen Pract, 71 (706) (2021), pp. e347-e355 doi: 10.3399/BJGP.2020.0697. PMID: 33824161; PMCID: PMC8049204.
  • Nicholson BD, Hamilton W, Koshiaris C, Oke JL, Hobbs FDR, Aveyard P. The association between unexpected weight loss and cancer diagnosis in primary care: a matched cohort analysis of 65,000 presentations. Br J Cancer. 2020 Jun;122(12):1848-1856. doi: 10.1038/s41416-020-0829-3. Epub 2020 Apr 15. PMID: 32291391; PMCID: PMC7283307.
  • Koshiaris C, Aveyard P, Oke J, Ryan R, Szatkowski L, Stevens R, Farley A. Smoking cessation and survival in lung, upper aero-digestive tract and bladder cancer: cohort study. Br J Cancer. 2017 Oct 10;117(8):1224-1232. doi: 10.1038/bjc.2017.

Annalisa Quattrocchi

  • Shi A, Fong KHA, Rodomar C, Demetriou CA, Kolokotroni O, Philippou E, Salameh P, Mosquera MC, Papageorgiou E, Critselis E, Marcou Y, Constantinou C, Quattrocchi A. Barriers and facilitators for adopting healthy lifestyles in breast cancer survivors: a scoping review protocol. JBI Evid Synth. 2023 Nov 1;21(11):2218-2226. doi: 10.11124/JBIES-22-00395. PMID: 37395535.
  • Barchitta M, Maugeri A, Magnano San Lio R, Quattrocchi A, Degrassi F, Catalano F, Basile G, Agodi A. The Effects of Diet and Dietary Interventions on the Quality of Life among Breast Cancer Survivors: A Cross-Sectional Analysis and a Systematic Review of Experimental Studies. Cancers (Basel). 2020 Jan 30;12(2):322. doi: 10.3390/cancers12020322. PMID: 32019093; PMCID: PMC7072135.
  • Demetriou CA, Koshiaris C, Cory OA, Constantinou C, Kolokotroni O, Marcou Y, Papamichael D, Charalambous H, Vomvas D, Demetriou A, Scoutellas V, Quattrocchi A. Trends in incidence and survival of the four most common cancers by stage at diagnosis in Cyprus: A population-based study from 2004 to 2017. Cancer Epidemiol. 2025 Feb;94:102704. doi: 10.1016/j.canep.2024.102704. Epub 2024 Nov 23. PMID: 39581012.

Eleni Tolma

  • Tolma EL, Stoner JA, Li J, Kim Y, Engelman KK. Predictors of regular mammography use among American Indian women in Oklahoma: a cross-sectional study. BMC Womens Health. 2014;14:101. Published 2014 Aug 28. doi:10.1186/1472-6874-14-101
  • Tolma EL, Engelman K, Stoner JA, et al. The Design of a Multi-component Intervention to Promote Screening Mammography in an American Indian Community: The Native Women’s Health Project. AIMS Public Health. 2016;3(4):933-955. Published 2016 Nov 18. doi:10.3934/publichealth.2016.4.933
  • Tolma EL, Stoner JA, Thomas C, et al. Conducting a formative evaluation of an intervention promoting mammography screening in an American Indian community: The Native Women’s Health Project. Am J Health Educ. 2019;50(1):52-65. doi:10.1080/19325037.2018.1552216

Selected Research Projects

OUR MEDICAL SCHOOL

The University of Nicosia started the first medical school in Cyprus in 2011. The Medical School is now offering a 6-Year Doctor of Medicine (MD) programme designed for high school leavers, a Graduate Entry – Doctor of Medicine Degree (MD), an MSc in Family Medicine for practicing primary care physicians, a Master of Public Health (MPH) and a PhD in Medical Sciences, for research in all disciplines or specialties of Medicine.

  • UK  (Toll Free):  0800 031 5421
  • US & CA (Toll Free): +1 877 298 8189
  • AU: +61 417 397 712
  • GR: + 30 698 508 8212
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