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3 February, 2025LA COLMENA FOUNDATION RESEARCH GRANTS
4 February, 2025This February 4th is World Cancer Day, a disease whose incidence is increasing over time. The IIS Aragón has 18 groups dedicated to cancer research
The Department of Health and the Aragonese Health Service (SALUD) would like to express their commitment to oncological care in the Autonomous Community, on the occasion of the celebration this Tuesday, February 4, World Cancer Day. With the aim of giving these patients the best diagnosis and treatment, some improvements have been implemented in the last year, such as the mMore than 1.500 patients have received immunotherapy in 2024 in Aragon.
Thus, if in 2022 approximately one thousand patients were treated with immunotherapy, in 2024 the figure has risen to more than 1.500. Similarly, investment in these drugs has increased, reaching more than 12,5 million euros in 2024, which represents 6,4% of drug consumption in hospitals.
Immunotherapy harnesses the immune system to identify and fight malignant cells, being effective in different tumors, improving survival and reducing recurrences.
These therapies are used before and after surgery. Whether used as monotherapy or combined with chemotherapy, they have an impact on the immune system.Very positive impact on the long-term control of various types of cancer, such as melanoma, gastric cancer, lung cancer or breast cancer. In 2024, other types of tumors were added, such as mesothelioma, urothelial carcinoma, endometrial cancer or cervical cancer.
On the other hand, advanced therapies with CAR-T cells have also emerged as an effective strategy against cancer, combining cell therapy and gene therapy. These treatments use the patient's own T cells, which are genetically modified and infused back into the patient to attack malignant cells.
There are different treatments, mainly for hematological cancers, such as lymphomas, leukemias and the most recent in 2024 for the treatment of multiple myeloma. In Aragon, 75 patients have received these therapies and the number will increase in the coming years. with the emergence of new products for the treatment of other tumors.
other drugs
Other novel drugs introduced in the Autonomous Community in 2024 are: bispecific antibodies for the treatment of myeloma, targeted therapies such as PARP protein inhibitor drugs in advanced ovarian cancer, treatments for agnostic tumors - those that use the same drug to treat all types of cancer that have the genetic mutation or biomarker that the drug targets - or treatments for less frequent tumors that occur at earlier ages in pediatric patients with neurofibromatosis type 1.
Another significant advance is the new forms of drug administration, which allow the drugs to be administered subcutaneously as an alternative to intravenous infusions, which means an improvement in the patient's quality of life since less time is needed for administration.
In total, in the last 24 months a total of 54 drugs or new indications have been evaluated and included in Aragon hospitals in the area of oncohematology to improve the prognosis of all patients.
To facilitate access to all these new developments, there is a management system supported by the New Drug Evaluation Commission of the Department of Health, which has the participation of more than 50 professionals from all hospitals in Aragon.
First accelerator outside Zaragoza
The manager of the Aragonese Health Service (SALUD), Ana Castillo, has expressed the willingness of the Government of Aragon to work to eliminate the differences in the face of this disease and that the entire society has the same opportunities to prevent cancer, live with it and access the results of his research.
In this regard, Ana Castillo has referred to the installation of the first accelerator outside Zaragoza for the treatment of cancer patients with radiotherapy. It is located in the San Jorge University Hospital in Huesca and serves patients in this province, which has allowed that, since its launch on January 31, 2024, until now, 320 people have received treatment, who have not had to travel to Zaragoza or Lérida, saving them time and effort, and bringing care closer to those who need it most.
Construction is scheduled to be carried out this year on the bunker that will house an accelerator in the new Bishop Polanco Hospital of Teruel, works that involve an investment of three million euros by the Aragonese Health Service.
In Aragon, there are three accelerators in operation at the Lozano Blesa University Clinical Hospital in Zaragoza, another three at the Miguel Servet University Hospital, and one at the San Jorge Hospital in Huesca. The Servet and Clínico accelerators have treated 2024 patients in 3.524.
Another field of action in cancer treatment is investigation. In Aragon, 209 clinical trials in Oncology are active in the public hospitals of the Autonomous Community. The centers involved are: Miguel Servet University Hospital of Zaragoza, with 130 essays; Lozano Blesa University Clinical Hospital, with 76; the Obispo Polanco University Hospital in Teruel, with two; and the San Jorge University Hospital in Huesca, with one. The number of patients 1.321 people are taking part in these trials.
Screenings
As regards screening programmes, the following are currently in place in Aragon: breast, colorectal and cervical cancerBreast screening is aimed at women aged 50 to 69. Global participation is 73,7%, exceeding the 70% benchmark set by Europe to predict an impact on mortality in the population. The global detection rate is 4,7 cancers per 1.000 women screened, which is within expectations.
The early detection programme for colorectal cancer consists of performing a fecal occult blood test on the population aged 50 to 69 in Aragon. Participation is 42% and the detection rate for high- and medium-risk adenomas is 9,3 per 1.000 people screened. The detection rate for invasive cancer is 0,3 per 1.000 people screened.
On the other hand, the cervical cancer screening programme is implemented as an opportunistic screening for patients who attend consultations with their midwives and is being extended to a population-based programme. In the group of women aged 25 to 29, it consists of a cytology test and in the group aged 30 to 65, it consists of the HPV test.
The SALUD manager has stressed that all this work “It would not be possible without the tireless work of our professionals., who, with their effort and closeness, accompany the patients and make each treatment more bearable.”
Who studies cancer at the IIS Aragón?
The IIS Aragón, through its Clinical Research Unit, manages the clinical trials carried out in all hospitals and primary care centres in Aragon.
In addition, the institute has 16 groups and 2 associates that research cancer. From prostate cancer to medulloblastoma, all groups contribute to the fight against cancer.
- (GIIS011) Aragonese Primary Care Research Group (GAIAP): Among their lines of research, they study the primary and secondary prevention of cancer from Primary Care.
- (GIIS018) Tissue MicroEnvironment Lab (TME Lab): His lines of research focus on the application of microfluidic technologies to solve clinical problems related to cancer and cardiovascular diseases.
- (GIIS025) Medical Oncology Lozano Blesa Clinical Hospital: Its main objective is clinical and translational research in different types of tumors, as well as basic research in collaboration with other Research Groups of the IIS Aragón. They are active in research in the field of genetic counseling in hereditary cancer, psycho-oncology and identification of predictive biomarkers for the efficacy of different anti-tumor therapies.
- (GIIS026) «Miguel Servet» Medical Oncology: The group has created a tumor bank to study the predictive prognostic factors of response in different types of tumors and clinical situations. They also have a program for the development and evaluation of new drugs. They research molecular techniques for the diagnosis of familial and hereditary breast/ovarian syndrome cancer, or colorectal cancer.
- (GIIS027) Translational research group in digestive pathology: Among their lines of research, they study the mechanisms of progression to digestive cancer and chemoprevention.
- (GIIS040) Hematology Research Group of the HCU Lozano Blesa: Translational studies of immunotherapy applied to lymphoid pathology, research in oncohematological diseases, research in thrombotic pathology and research in non-oncological hematology.
- (GIIS055) Immunotherapy, Inflammation, Infection and Cancer (I3C): Among their lines of study, based on information generated using animal models, they develop more effective cellular immunotherapies against adult and pediatric cancer, granzyme inhibitors to treat autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.
- (GIIS071) Urology Group, Miguel Servet University Hospital (URO-SERVET): The group focuses its lines of research on neoplastic pathology of the urinary tract and male reproductive system, with special emphasis on prostate cancer.
- (GIIS090) Apoptosis, Immunity and Cancer: They study cancer immunotherapy with expanded NK cells and granulysin immunotoxins, immunogenic chemotherapy in the treatment of multiple myeloma, mitochondria and glucose metabolism in tumor cells, among others.
- (GIIS095) Surgical Pathology of the Thoracic: Research group dedicated to all aspects related to thoracic surgery, with special interest in innovation in surgical techniques, lung cancer, benchmarking and surgery for lung metastases.
- (GIIS096) Research and innovation in dermatology Miguel Servet (INN DERMA MS): The group studies photodynamic therapy in non-melanoma skin cancer, prevention and new treatments for non-melanoma skin cancer, among other lines.
- (GIIS097) HUMS Gyne-Research Group: This group focuses its research on various areas of gynecological oncology, with special emphasis on women with the most prevalent cancers, endometrium or breast.
- (GIIS100) Psoriasis, Lymphomas and Skin Cancer: The group was founded to study psoriasis and later expanded to include the study of cutaneous lymphomas, opening up new lines of research in the field of histopathology for the characterization of lymphomas and their application to therapies. Lately, lines of research have also been developed into the influence of the microbiome on the appearance of skin tumors.
- (GIIS107) Metabolism and Tumor Stem Cells: The group is looking for treatments that can be applied to pancreatic cancer, one of the most aggressive cancers currently. They study how the metabolism of tumors affects their development and response to treatments. In addition, among other lines of research, they are focusing on medulloblastoma, a childhood brain cancer that can be very aggressive.
- (GIIS110) Cancer Heterogeneity and Immunomics (CHI): The group's interest is focused on understanding, at a molecular and cellular level, the progression of cancer from its onset to metastatic dissemination, always taking into account both tumor heterogeneity and the interaction between malignant cells and the microenvironment where they grow.
- (GIIS111) Molecular Oncology: The group combines a wide range of molecular biology techniques, experimental models, screenings and cell biology assays in its research with the aim of developing new diagnostic tools and new treatments for cancer.
- (GIISA011) Technological innovation in Cancer: The group is dedicated to research into new technologies in cancer treatment, intraoperative radiotherapy, virtual simulation 3D printing, molecular biology and radiotherapy, radiogenomics, special radiotherapy techniques and artificial intelligence, among others.
- (GIISA020) Comprehensive socio-health neurosurgical research and innovation (IINIS): Among its lines, they investigate brain tumors.
Source: Aragon Today