The Center for Applied Medical Research (CIMA) of the University of Navarra is to begin a multicenter study on new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for poorly differentiated types of cancer. The project, which has received €1,200,000 from the Fundación Científica aecc, aims to identify new therapeutic targets and markers which will improve the patient survival rate and quality of life.

Carcinoma of the lung is the cancer with the highest death rate in Western countries. In Europe there are approximately 410,000 new cases per year and it causes some 353,000 deaths. Despite the clear link between lung cancer and smoking, the available global statistics report that 15% of the cases in men and an even higher percentage in women cannot be attributed to tobacco smoking. "The biology and potential diagnostic and therapeutic strategies of these tumors which are not linked to smoking are relatively unknown in comparison with lung carcinomas caused by smoking", explained Dr. Luis Montuenga, a researcher at CIMA and the coordinator of the project, which is being carried out in collaboration with the Clínica Universidad de Navarra. Also participating are the Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Bellvitge (IDIBELL) and the Instituto de Investigación Oncológica del Hospital Vall d'Hebron, both in Barcelona.

Due to the progress of molecular and cellular biology, together with new-generation technologies, over the last decade, new genetic mutations and alterations involved in diverse cases of lung cancer have been discovered. However, the key molecular alterations are still unknown in approximately 50% of lung tumors. "Our project will use high yield gene technologies to identify and validate new molecular targets in three types of tumors with fewer therapeutic options (tumors in non-smokers, tumors in smokers without recognized genetic alterations and small cell carcinomas). The aim is to implant new personalized therapies which will improve the survival rate and the quality-of-life of these patients".

Another of the challenges of modern medicine is to decide which patients in the initial stages of the disease should be treated with chemotherapy after removal of the tumor. "In this project we shall identify prognostic molecular markers in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the lung at an early stage, which will allow us to identify those patients with a higher risk of progression of the disease", concluded the CIMA researcher.

aecc

The aecc, through its Scientific Foundation, deals with social demand for research into cancer, and finances programs for scientific and social research. These programs aim to achieve scientific progress to improve the future of patients and their families and to consolidate a scientific structure in Spain, by drawing society closer to these achievements.