05/06/2024 - Press release
A scientific team led by Dr Anna Bigas, from the Hospital del Mar Research Institute and the Josep Carreras Institute, has described the role of the IκBα protein in the differentiation process of haematopoietic cells. In the absence of this protein, the stem cells enter quiescence, acquire a dormant state and maintain their potential, which may allow them to be transplanted for therapeutic uses in leukaemia or blood diseases of genetic origin. This is an important step towards being able to generate these types of cells in the lab, preventing them from differentiating and turning into other cells too early.
03/05/2024 - Press release
Natural Killer (NK) cells, when exposed to antibody treatment used against HER2-positive breast cancer, secrete specific types of cytokines that activate the immune response against tumor cells. Researchers have confirmed that patients with NK lymphocytes present in the tumor environment show a better response to treatment, thanks to this mechanism. This confirms the feasibility of using cytokines secreted by NK cells as markers of response to anti-HER2 antibodies with a simple blood test. It also reaffirms various clinical trials using these lymphocytes to bolster treatment in patients with metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer.
A study involving the Hospital del Mar Research Institute, the Vall d'Hebron Institut d'Oncologia, IDIBELL, and the Institut Català d'Oncologia suggests that combining chemotherapy with drugs that can inhibit two cell signaling pathways involved in tumor progression may aid in treatment. The research has analyzed the interaction of the protein IKKα with these pathways, known for their ability to promote the proliferation of tumor cells. This combination has the advantage of reducing treatment toxicity. The study opens the door to new approaches for tumors with the presence of this protein. It is published in the EMBO Journal.
Més informació "A possible new combination of treatments to combat cancer"
21/06/2023 - Press release
The Molecular Mechanisms of Cancer and Stem Cell Research Group of the Hospital del Mar Research Institute is the only center in Spain to participate in an international study that validates the deficiency of a protein, IκBα, as a marker of poor prognosis in this type of tumor The work, published in Cell Reports Medicine, has analyzed data from more than 2,000 patients. In addition, the researchers have identified one of the pathways on which this protein acts, which makes it a possible therapeutic target The Hospital del Mar Research Institute group is already working on a model to search for possible treatments that modulate the function of this marker. It should be considered that at present there are very few therapeutic alternatives for glioma, which has a very high mortality rate
30/03/2023 - Press release
Adding a peptide, a molecule made of several amino acids, to oxaliplatin, a chemotherapy drug used to treat colorectal cancer, avoids the side effects this treatment can have on normal cells, including potential chemotherapy resistance. This is confirmed by an article published in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, led by the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute and the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona). This work is the second part of a recent study that explored how platinum accumulation in normal cells promotes platinum resistance in colorectal cancer cells. This new approach prevents healthy cells surrounding the tumour from accumulating platinum. This avoids the activation of certain genes linked to poor treatment response and tumour progression.
21/02/2023 - Press release
A study led by researchers at the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute shows that the oxaliplatin administered in some cases of colorectal cancer accumulates in non-cancerous/healthy cells from the tumor environment. This accumulation causes healthy cells to produce a protein that further activates them, triggering tumor resistance to treatment and assisting in tumor regeneration. The researchers discovered a marker that can identify these tumors unresponsive to chemotherapy. The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, paves the way for new strategies enhancing the effects of chemotherapy on cancer cells while avoiding adverse side effects on non-cancerous cells.
11/01/2023 - Press release
A study led by researchers from the Stem Cell and Cancer Research Group at the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute has revealed the key role a protein plays in identifying patients with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia who will not respond to standard treatment. The study, published in the journal EMBO Molecular Medicine, shows that combining chemotherapy with an inhibitor for this protein helps to eliminate treatment resistance in an animal model. This is a rare disease, which is diagnosed in around a hundred people each year in Spain, mainly paediatric patients.
19/10/2022 - Press release
A multicentre study involving hospitals in Spain and Portugal, led by Hospital del Mar, shows that these patients already receive enough radiation to treat the disease when the breast affected by the tumour is irradiated directly. The study monitored more than 400 women. The results indicate that the five-year survival rate and relapses are practically identical between those who underwent specific treatment targeting the nodes located in the armpits and those who only received breast radiation. The findings of the OPTIMAL study have been published in the journal Radiation Oncology and can now be applied to clinical practice. Thanks to this fact, patients will need less radiotherapy and will suffer fewer treatment-related side effects.
05/10/2022 - Press release
A study led by researchers at the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM-Hospital del Mar) has determined the role that fibroblasts, the cells that contribute to tissue formation, play in a tumour's ability to generate resistance to the most common biological treatment for HER2. The paper, published in the journal Nature Communications, demonstrates the ability of a new therapy, currently undergoing clinical trials, to promote a potent immune response by binding to the fibroblasts, enabling it to overcome resistance to anti-HER2 therapy in tumours with this cancer cell protection mechanism. To demonstrate this, the researchers created a 3D tumour model in which they were able to check the relationships between all the factors involved.
30/05/2022 - Press release
A group of genes has been identified in cancerous cells that survive chemotherapy treatment. The activity of these genes leads to treatment resistance and increased capacity for metastasis. This breakthrough opens the door to studying targeted treatments using drug inhibitors of these genes combined with chemotherapy, potentially providing alternatives for patients with a worse prognosis in this type of tumor, accounting for 30% of cases. The research, led by scientists from the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute, highlights that this type of tumor cell reverts to an embryonic state. Identifying the factor that triggers this change could aid in designing new treatments for high-risk patients.
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