Welcome to the new Gustave Roussy website
A new website designed to offer you a simpler, clearer, and more intuitive experience. Patients, caregivers, healthcare professionals, and donors: find information, news, and services more easily.
PRISM Institute: Understanding the Biology of Each Type of Cancer
What if every cancer were characterized not only by its organ of origin, but also by its biology? Founded by Gustave Roussy, CentraleSupélec, Paris-Saclay University, Inserm, and Unicancer, the PRISM Institute aims to integrate biological, clinical, and digital data to better assess risks, prevent disease, and guide treatment decisions. Ultimately, this research could lead to a digital twin of the patient—a “hologram” summarizing the biology of their cancer.
Why Rethink Cancer Classification?
Cancer is not limited to the organ in which it originates.
It is a complex, dynamic, and evolving disease. Its behavior depends on multiple interactions between tumor cells, their microenvironment, the patient’s body, and time. Two cancers that originate in the same organ can follow very different trajectories, and two cancers from different organs can share the same mechanisms.
Molecular profiling has already profoundly transformed oncology. But genomics alone is not enough to explain disease progression, response to treatment, or the development of resistance. To take the next step, we must characterize and integrate the various dimensions of cancer biology and patient biology.
This is the mission of PRISM, the National Institute for Precision Medicine in Oncology. Its goal is to move beyond classifications based solely on the organ of origin and contribute to a molecular classification of cancers centered on their biology.
What is the mission of the PRISM Institute?
To develop precision medicine based on the multidimensional integration of cancer and host biology, and then demonstrate its clinical benefits.
Designated a University Hospital Institute in 2023 as part of the France 2030 initiative, PRISM brings together biological research, data science, clinical research, patient care, and education within a single translational framework. This framework covers the entire journey, from scientific discovery through clinical evaluation to the deployment of validated tools.
This vision aligns with the priorities of Gustave Roussy’s 2026–2030 institutional plan: personalizing patient care pathways, intensifying research with significant societal impact, accelerating the integration of artificial intelligence, and strengthening data management and governance.
The Four Pillars of the PRISM Institute for Advancing Precision Oncology
To identify what makes each cancer unique, beyond its organ of origin.
PRISM leverages advanced technologies to analyze the various components of tumor biology: multi-omic analyses, single-cell studies, spatial biology, ex vivo modeling, and circulating biomarkers. These approaches are applied at various stages of the patient journey, from risk assessment to prevention and treatment.
Transforming heterogeneous data into a multidimensional representation of the disease.
Biological and clinical data are integrated using applied mathematics, computational modeling, data science, and artificial intelligence, notably by researchers at CentraleSupélec. The goal is to construct a multidimensional representation of each patient’s biology—the “hologram”—which enables the identification of biomarkers, response predictors, and new therapeutic targets.
Test these tools in clinical research.
The tools developed are evaluated in patients through clinical trials to determine their usefulness. They are intended to help better quantify risks, identify therapeutic targets, predict disease progression, and support decision-making by healthcare teams. PRISM is thus involved throughout the entire care continuum, from identifying individuals at high risk to managing advanced stages of the disease.
Preparing for the integration of precision oncology into care pathways.
A validated innovation only transforms practices if the healthcare system can adopt it. PRISM paves the way for this adoption by involving patients, healthcare providers, and decision-makers from the very beginning of the care pathway design process, addressing issues of access, cost, equity, and medico-economic impact.
Are you a patient or a family member?
The PRISM Institute is a research institute: it does not see patients for consultations. Its research contributes to the clinical trials and clinical practices at Gustave Roussy. If a trial is appropriate for your situation, it will be recommended to you by the medical team treating you.
How does this vision translate into concrete action?
Through programs that cover the key stages of the cancer journey, from identifying risk to understanding resistance.
Flagship Programs
- ARCANE develops specialized artificial intelligence agents to support clinical decision-making in a transparent, explainable, and context-sensitive manner. These agents form a sovereign technological layer within the PRISM Institute.
- UNLOCK studies the mechanisms of action of innovative treatments and seeks to understand why resistance develops by collecting longitudinal biopsies and integrating multimodal data during early-phase and neoadjuvant clinical trials.
The Multimodal Spatial Atlas program characterizes the biology of cancers and precancerous lesions at high spatial resolution to identify new therapeutic targets and refine patient stratification. The STILL program, for example, is building a multi-organ atlas of cellular changes—in the epithelium and its environment—that accompany the progression from in situ lesions to invasive disease.
Other Programs Offered by the PRISM Institute
Flagship programs shape the institute’s activities through their scale, strategic scope, or visibility. They are complemented by other programs, also led by PRISM, that cover specific stages of the cancer care journey.
- The National Implementation Program develops and tests structured care pathways in real-world settings, co-designed with patients, healthcare providers, and other stakeholders. It is developing a national roadmap for the deployment of precision oncology and addresses issues of access and equity.
- The Interception translational research program seeks to understand the mechanisms that precede the onset of cancer by mapping pre-tumor biology in various tissues, and transforms this knowledge into screening and prevention tools that can be used in real-world clinical settings
- MEDITWIN, a national project dedicated to the development of virtual twins in healthcare, for which the PRISM Institute coordinates the oncology component.
Who will educate the next generation?
Precision oncology will only fulfill its promise if professionals are trained at the intersection of medicine, biology, and data science.
Training is one of PRISM’s core missions. The educational program has three objectives: to train the next generation, from doctoral students to young professionals in precision oncology; to develop continuing education for healthcare professionals and researchers; and to disseminate knowledge and innovations through conferences, webinars, and publications.
This mission is coordinated by an Education Committee comprising representatives from the founding partners. It helps foster a shared scientific culture and cultivate professionals capable of working at the intersection of multiple disciplines.
A National Alliance Working on Behalf of Patients
The PRISM Institute draws on the complementary expertise of five founding institutions:
- Gustave Roussy, for cancer care, cancer research, and clinical innovation
- CentraleSupélec, for engineering sciences, applied mathematics, and modeling
- Paris-Saclay University, for its research and education ecosystem
- Inserm, for biomedical research
- Unicancer, the federation of cancer centers, for concept validation in large-scale national studies
- Fabrice André, Chief Executive Officer
- Maud Kamal, Executive Director
- Christophe Javaud, Director of Commercialization
- Marta Jimenez, Head of Translational Medicine
- Johann Loriot, Medical Director
- Nathalie Lassau, Director of Education
- Aline Renneville, Director of Platforms
- Paul-Henry Cournède, Director of Data Science
- Emmanuel Mussault, Patient Representative
- Maud Kamal, Executive Director of the PRISM Institute
- Semih Dogan, Scientific Manager for Education and Communication; Program Manager at Meditwin
- Céline Borras, Coordination & Dissemination Manager
- Agathe Peltier, Scientific Manager of the Unlock Program
- Manel Benlakehal, Scientific Project Officer