Fig. 1

The ACROBATICC project flow sequence and rationale for cancer biology investigation. a Illustrated is a simple workflow of patients’ recruitment and samples of blood (red vials) and tissues (blue vials) from initial diagnosis, before and after surgery and during follow up. Overall, disease-free and cancer-specific survival will be analysed at 5 years. b Illustrated are the specific levels of patient information gathered for prognostic and predictive use, ranging from clinicopathological characteristics (such as sex, age, body weight and height) to genetic and epigenetic mechanisms (including microsatellite instability; CpG-island methylator phenotypes and chromosomal instability) and specific tumour-host interactions (such as immune-response in tumor; cancer metabolism and role of circulating tumor cells). With access to newer techniques and development of novel hypothesis, the project will allow for exploration of other predictors, as well as serve as external validation cohort in collaborative research