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17/02/2022 - General information

M. Chiara Giorgetti Award for a Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute project

This afternoon saw the presentation of the III M. Chiara Giorgetti Award for research into metastatic breast cancer. This year it recognises a project from the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM-Hospital del Mar), led by doctors Toni Celià-Terrassa and Joan Albanell. The award is promoted by the Metastatic Breast Cancer patients' association and involves a prize of 100,000 euros, 25,000 euros of which are provided by the AMAMA association.

At the event, Pilar Fernández Pascual, president of the organisation, wanted to highlight the fact that "It is very important for us to know that we are not alone in dealing with this disease, that there are people who are working for us every day." For this reason she wanted to express her thanks "Because it instils hope and the possibility that one day there may be a real miracle that will put an end to this disease." The selected project will analyse factors linked to the appearance of treatment resistance in breast cancer patients with metastasis.

During the event, Dr. Celià Terrassa, coordinator of the Cancer Stem Cells and Metastasis Dynamics Research Group at IMIM-Hospital del Mar, explained that the project, A hybrid functional/clinical gene signature of immunotherapy resistance in metastatic breast cancer will seek to validate the immunotherapy-responsive activity of a specific group of seventeen genes in patients suffering metastatic breast cancer. "In addition, we will study whether any of these genes are directly responsible for immunotherapy treatment resistance, in order to find a therapeutic target to prevent the emergence of this resistance", she added. Dr. Joan Albanell, director of the IMIM-Hospital del Mar Cancer Research Programme, thanked the association for its support, saying that "We are especially grateful that the association is giving such important support to research into improving the prognosis of patients with metastatic breast cancer. This project is aimed at helping us to understand which genes mean that some patients benefit from immunotherapy while others do not, so that we can continue to make headway against this very common disease, which is still the leading cause of cancer-related death among women in Spain."

Analysing resistance to treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors

This type of approach prevents the action of certain proteins in some immune system and cancer cells, which modulate the immune response and can prevent T cells from responding to a tumour. It has revolutionised cancer treatment, but cannot yet be used in cases of metastatic breast cancer. The IMIM-Hospital del Mar project will analyse and validate whether the activity of a group of seventeen genes identified as prognostic response factors in this type of patient is related to the generation of resistance to treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors. The researchers are confident that they will be able to develop a tool to predict the emergence of resistance, as well as therapeutic targets to prevent its occurrence.

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