Principal Investigator: Dr Astero Klampatsa Centre:Institute of Cancer Research, London (United Kingdom) Background: Mesothelioma is a type of thoracic tumour that occurs in the mesothelium. This is the cell layer that covers several of the organs contained in the thoracic cavity. We now know that one of its main causes is exposure to asbestos (also called amianthus). Although asbestos now appears to be a thing of the past, a large number of people
Principal Investigator: Dr. Alan Melcher, Prof. Kevin Harrington Centre: Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) and The Royal Marsden Hospital, London Introduction: Head and neck cancer is a very common type of tumour (550,000 cases a year worldwide and 12,238 in the UK). Despite being common, mortality rates are still high (380,000 deaths a year worldwide and more than 4,000 in the
Researcher: Dr. Bruno Paiva Center: : Clínica Universidad de Navarra Introduction: Multiple myeloma is the second most common blood cancer. It has extremely high mortality rates and there is still no cure for it. Myeloma, like other blood diseases, goes through a benign stage called Monoclonal Gammopathy of Undetermined Significance (MGUS) which, in most cases, does not progress to serious disease. However,
Researcher: Dra. María Casanova Center: CNIO, Madrid Introduction: At present, there are no adequate treatments for triple negative breast cancer, an extremely aggressive cancer with high mortality rates. One of the most significant complications of this cancer is that 60% of patients develop metastases, the causes of which remain largely unknown. Advances in understanding the immune system have enabled the following to be identified: a highly varied and heterogeneous group of tumour cells (called myeloid cells), which occasionally behave abnormally, stop rejection of the tumour and may have a crucial function in the
Researcher: Dr. Alejo Rodríguez-Fraticelli Center: : Institut de Recerca Biològica IRB, Barcelona Introduction: One in 50-100 people will develop leukaemia within their lifetime. Although cure rates are high for many types of leukaemia, there is no effective treatment for Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML). Despite decades of research, no treatment is ultimately effective. One cause of this is that, as they become treatment-resistant, these tumours
Researcher: Dra. Isabel Mendizábal Center: CIC bioGUNE, Bilbao Introduction Advanced prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer mortality in males. Generally, the cause of death in these patients is the onset of metastases, against which treatments tend not to be very effective. Understanding the mechanisms of metastasis, however, is complex. The tumours are not homogeneous, not all tumour cells are
Researcher: Dra. María Esperanza Rodríguez Ruiz Center: Clinica Universidad de Navarra Introduction: There are around 35,100 lung cancer deaths in the UK every year, that’s 96 every day. Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer death in the UK, accounting for 21% of all cancer deaths. Despite advances in the treatment of
Principal Researcher Dr. Joaquin Mateo Center: Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO) Introduction: Despite advances in prostate cancer treatment, metastatic prostate cancer remains a fatal disease. Over the last few years, huge work has gone into discovering therapies directed specifically at some targets in these cells. There are, however, few available options. One such option is PARP inhibitors. It has recently been discovered that numerous patients with metastatic prostate cancer have mutations in the different mechanisms that repair the DNA. This causes the cells to accumulate more mutations, which they cannot repair and they increasingly become
Principal Researcher: Professor Chris Jones Centres: The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) – London. UK Brain tumours in children remain a major medical challenge. Not only because of their heterogeneity but because of their tendency to poor prognosis. The appearance of a tumour is often devastating as, for some types, there currently very few effective treatments. While globally around 70% of children diagnosed with brain cancer survive for more
Researcher: Dra. Raquel Pérez López Center: : Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology, Barcelona Introduction: Cancer immunotherapy has brought about a radical change in the way in which many types of cancer are treated. However, although has fantastic results in some patients, in a significant percentage such therapies are ineffective. Knowing which patients have a greater or lesser chance of responding is one of the biggest challenges of modern medicine: it