Labnet, in 20 years 200,000 examinations and 6.8 million benefit for the SSN

One hundred and sixty clinical centres, 60 specialist laboratories, 15 thousand patients reached and over 200 thousand examinations performed. These are some of the figures describing the twenty years of activity of LabNet, a national network managed by the GIMEMA Foundation and financed by private entities, including AIL, which links clinical centres and specialist laboratories through a digital platform. The aim is to make advanced diagnostics in haematology accessible by offering uniform services throughout the country.

LabNet has created a model that enhances diagnostic quality, timeliness of care and clinical monitoring. In total, a socio-economic impact of 16 euros is estimated for every euro invested in LabNet. Between 2021 and 2023, in the LabNet CML project - one of the four active in the Network - 381 patients achieved a molecular response to treatments, enabling the discontinuation of unnecessary therapies in around half of the cases and generating a net benefit of EUR 6.8 million for the National Health Service. This was revealed today in Rome during an event at the Ministry of Health entitled '20 years of LabNet activities, results and prospects for development'. The initiative, sponsored by AIL and the GIMEMA Foundation, was realised by TEHA with the unconditional contribution of Novartis and was attended by representatives of clinicians, patients and institutions.

"Over the last 20 years we have built a unique model of collaboration between clinical centres, specialist laboratories, institutions, and private partners capable of generating concrete value for the National Health Service and for research but, above all, of offering a service that is now indispensable for all patients suffering from haematological malignancies," emphasises Marco Vignetti, President of the GIMEMA Foundation. LabNet has, in fact, improved the quality of patient care, offering rapid, precise, and uniform diagnoses throughout the country, contributing substantially, among other things, to guaranteeing equal access to the most innovative treatments for all. At the same time, it has created a strategic platform for clinical and translational research. The hope is that this network will be recognised as a strategic asset of the country and that it will be supported as a result, because it represents not only a model of fair and effective care, but also a fundamental lever for the future of the SSN'.

LabNet was officially established in 2008, although the first initiatives to standardise molecular diagnostics in chronic myeloid leukaemia date back to 2006. It is currently divided into four projects: in addition to chronic myeloid leukaemia (LabNet CML), acute myeloid leukaemia (LabNet AML) since 2016, Ph negative myeloproliferative neoplasms (JakNet) since 2018 and myelodysplastic syndromes since the following year (LabNet MDS). This is a unique network of professionals in Italia. On the one hand, LabNet makes possible a more precise, uniform and timely diagnosis of excellence, helping the clinician in the classification of the disease, its monitoring and therapeutic decisions. On the other hand, the high quality of the procedures developed and periodically validated can become a cornerstone of major clinical research projects.

'In the last 20 years we have witnessed an extraordinary evolution in haematology: increasingly precise diagnoses and targeted therapies have opened up perspectives that were unthinkable until recently,' points out Giorgina Specchia, Member of the Scientific Committee of AIL - Italian Association against Leukaemia, Lymphoma and Myeloma. This path is also concretely supported by initiatives such as LabNet, promoted by GIMEMA and co-financed by AIL, which guarantee high diagnostic standards, offering patients more accurate and timely monitoring and more appropriate treatment paths. In fact, the concrete benefits concern the healthcare system, which is more efficient and able to optimise costs, but there are also great advantages for patients and caregivers, especially in terms of reduced mobility and, at the same time, reduced travel for examinations and therapies, with around 500 thousand kilometres saved every year for thousands of families'.