Patricia Sancho: «Spanish researchers are used to squeezing every euro they give us»

Patricia Sancho, researcher at IIS Aragón, on the back page of El Periódico de Aragón to talk about the project in which she collaborates, awarded by Fundación La Caixa with €1.000.000

The IISA researcher from Zaragoza starts her research project on early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer and development of effective drugs after having received aid of one million euros from the sixth call CaixaResearch, dedicated to collaborating with research against the most widespread diseases worldwide.

What is this project about?

The project begins this Friday, with a very basic investigation of pancreatic cancer through several patient samples. Our first objective is to generate a database with varied analyzes and different evaluations in order to predict possible drugs that can be used in the treatment of these tumors on a daily basis. My work will focus on the planning and development of these drugs following the strategic line that we have been carrying out for a year. 

This is quite risky planning, given that pancreatic cancer is a little-explored field…  

Of course, we are talking about a disease with a mortality of more or less 90 percent. Patients who live more than five years with the tumor do not reach ten percent. In the end, this type of aid offered by CaixaResearch creates projects that may have a lot of potential but entail great risk. We are a consortium of four research groups that also includes surgeons and oncologists. But we do not propose to cure pancreatic cancer overnight but rather we will try to better understand the development of this disease and its possible variants. Unlike other cancers such as breast cancer, where it is well known that there are several types with their respective treatment, this one is very unknown. That is why we first need to know the different subtypes and how to counteract them.  

«Today, the same chemotherapy is still used in pancreatic cancer as 30 years ago. We have been without any considerable progress since 2014»

How do you intend to obtain that data analysis of those subtypes?

At the moment, we know that most of the mutations that patients have are based on two specific genes. We intend to use transgenic mouse models to cause pancreatic cancer mutations through those two genes. Then, we will combine them with other less known genes to make three or four mutations and compare it with patients in clinics. 

What are the main reasons for this unexplored facet in pancreatic cancer?

The main problem is the heterogeneity in the different types of this cancer, as well as its development in each patient. It is something very complicated that prevents us from identifying and classifying each subtype. Afterwards, we do not have the means to detect it in an early stage, so The diagnosis is always very advanced or in a metastatic state.. Also, because it is not as typical as other cancers, it has not been given as much attention. We are talking about that, Today, the same chemotherapy is used as approximately 30 years ago. The last major advance was implemented in 2014, with the combinations of double and triple chemotherapies, which increased the life expectancy of patients by about 6 months. 

How do you see the research landscape in Aragon?

With good expectations at the moment, now that some projects have been resolved funds from the European Research Council. In Aragon there is a lot of talent, but a greater drive and more investment is needed, especially from public entities, which are almost non-existent in these cases. With aid like that from La Caixa, these projects are more bearable. But why also We Spaniards are used to squeezing every euro they give us. These impulses cannot only come from foundations, but also from hospitals and universities. It has to be something multidisciplinary. 

Source: The newspaper of Aragon

Photos: Researcher Patricia Sancho