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30 May 2024eldiario.es interviews Rebeca Sanz, a researcher from Teruel who leads a new group at the Aragón Health Research Institute (IIS Aragón), Cancer Heterogeneity and Immunomics
Rebeca Sanz, a native of the Teruel town of Urrea de Gaen, leads in Aragon, along with three other scientists, a line of research that aims to provide answers to the 20% of childhood cancer cases that still have no treatment. A project that is launched thanks to a grant of €60.000 from Aspanoa, the Aragonese association against childhood cancer.
What did you study and what led you to the field you work in today?
I studied Biology at the University of Barcelona because there were none in Zaragoza and the truth is that I was clear that I liked it, that it was what I wanted, although I was not very clear where to go. At the end of the degree, a subject in biochemistry and molecular biology of cancer was the one that tipped the balance. From there everything was going on, I did a master's degree, from there I went on to do internships in a laboratory in Barcelona of cancer genetics and molecular biology where I also did my doctoral thesis in breast cancer. It was there where I began to collaborate with bioinformaticians, and I discovered that in bioinformatics you can analyze many genes at the same time, which led me to do a master's degree in bioinformatics at the same time.
Being restless has led you down a different path. Has it penalized you in any way?
Above all, when applying for scholarships because in my case I had not gone abroad. I did my postdoctoral degree in Spain, I did not have the usual stay that is done abroad. The truth is that the scholarship they gave me, which provided me with five years of study, and the project, which I really liked, led me to stay here, and I am very happy. I don't regret having taken this path my way, in fact, I think it has gone very well for me because all the projects I have worked on have contributed to me and I love them.
You thought you were going to be able to work from home with people from home.
I had thought about returning, that idea was always in my head, but not even in the wildest of my dreams would I have thought that I could return to Aragón, and my town, as a researcher and in a project like this.
Tell us about the new group at the Aragón Health Research Institute (IIS Aragón), Cancer Heterogeneity and Immunomics.
We are starting a new line of research at the Aragon Health Research Institute, it is something that has not been done before. The objective of this study is to locate the weak points of the most common solid tumors in children with cancer and it is launched thanks to a grant of €60.000 from the Aragonese association against childhood cancer, Aspanoa. Specifically, we are going to study neuroblastoma in depth, due to its higher incidence and because it represents 15% of current mortality from childhood cancer; but also others such as Wilms tumor, a cancer that appears in the kidneys, or childhood sarcomas.
How would the life of a child cancer patient change?
If it reaches the clinic, it would be a very expensive treatment because it is a very specialized and almost personalized medicine, and it is a therapy that makes sense in rare tumors because it would give time to develop that drug not only in terms of time, but also in terms of economic viability. Today childhood cancer can be cured in 80% of cases. This research aims to provide an answer, or provide knowledge in that 20% who still do not have treatment. The goal is for childhood cancer to be XNUMX% cured.
At what point is the study and who is on the team?
We have already started because we started with data that is public, it is information that already exists, contributed by all the researchers in the world, and the first results have already been presented. The team is made up of professionals with very diverse profiles, which is not only interesting but necessary. I work hand in hand with scientists Eduardo Candeal, Paula Martín, and Eduardo Aranda. We have found something that seems promising and we anticipate that we can reach our goal in 2 years, the transition to clinic, which is where pharmaceutical companies intervene, is already more complex.
How do you feel being in charge of this team and in this investigation?
It is a sensation in which hope and excitement are intertwined, with a very strong feeling of responsibility. Even so, this is a great opportunity, I believe in this line of research and everything it can contribute, especially to child cancer patients.
What is the health of research in Aragon and Spain?
I have mixed feelings about this answer. I have done well through survival, but I know people who have had to give it up. On a day-to-day basis, the work system loads us with bureaucracy, I spend 50% of the day managing, writing and justifying, and you don't have as much time as you should to be able to investigate, study, investigate. The lack of job security is another problem that is detrimental to research: when you have trained staff or are in a good rhythm of work, the money runs out and you have to start looking for funding again. This slows down progress.
What role does Aspanoa have in this research?
It has a fundamental role. It is fortunate that these organizations exist, although their job should be to accompany patients and families, not to feel that they have the responsibility of providing funding. That should be financed with public money. This help from Aspanoa means a lot to us. We had the bioinformatics techniques ready, but we needed a push to start analyzing samples from patients from our hospital. Now this line is very strengthened because it will also allow us to hire a postdoctoral researcher.
Source: eldiario.es