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.
17/03/2022 - Press release
Researchers at the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute and Hospital del Mar have transformed immunotherapy-resistant tumours into tumours that respond to this treatment, achieving cures in animal models through an innovative therapeutic strategy in triple-negative breast cancer, the most aggressive subtype. Researchers have discovered the essential role of a new factor, LCOR, in enabling cancer cells to present tumour antigens on their surfaces. These antigens allow the immune system to recognise the tumour, an essential step if immunotherapy treatment is to succeed. On the other hand, they have shown that cancer stem cells have very low levels of LCOR, making them invisible to the immune system and therefore resistant to treatment. The work that has just been published used an innovative experimental messenger RNA system, similar to the technology used for COVID-19 vaccines, to produce LCOR in tumour cells. In this way, the resistant tumour cells of triple-negative cancer become visible and sensitive to the immune system. This approach is also being investigated in other breast cancer subtypes
Més informació "Radical increase in the effectiveness of breast cancer immunotherapy"
08/02/2022 - Press release
Drugs which are commonly-used as the first line of treatment for colorectal cancer cause the tumour cells to oversecrete proteins known as mucins, according to a new study published today in the journal eLife. The proteins alter the mucous layer, forming a physical barrier that prevents drugs from reaching their intended target. Using different techniques involving genetic manipulation and the use of chemical inhibitors, the research team were able to experimentally regulate mucin secretion in cancer cell lines and patient-derived organoids, paving the way for the development of future treatments that can be used alongside chemotherapy to target drug-resistant forms of colorectal cancer. The experiments also revealed potential new biomarkers for the prognosis of the disease.
Més informació "Colorectal cancers raise defensive barrier in response to chemotherapy"
27/01/2022 - Press release
This is a new valid marker for diagnosing this type of tumour, one of the cancers with the worst prognosis. It is, in fact, the third leading cause of cancer death in developed countries. The study, published in the journal eBioMedicine, was led by researchers from the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute and IBB-CSIC-IDIBAPS. Their results point to a protein present in tumour cells as an indicator of pancreatic cancer in early stages of the disease. This marker can be detected through a simple blood test, facilitating its application in clinical practice. A team of researchers from the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM-Hospital del Mar) and IIBB-CSIC-IDIBAPS have identified a new viable early diagnostic marker for the most common type of pancreatic cancer, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. The study has been published in the journal eBioMedicine, from The Lancet group, and may represent an important step in the early detection and treatment of this type of tumour, with one of the worst prognoses. Doctors and researchers from the Digestology and Medical Oncology Departments at Hospital del Mar, as well as from the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Oncológicas; CNIO), the Ramón y Cajal Institute for Health Research (Instituto Ramón y Cajal de Investigación Sanitaria; IRYCIS) and CIBER also collaborated in the study.
Més informació "New diagnostic marker for pancreatic cancer identified"
17/11/2021 - Press release
Hospital del Mar, in collaboration with Roche, is working on a pioneering artificial intelligence tool to improve the diagnosis and prognosis of patients with small cell lung cancer, one of the cancers with the worst outlook. Based on digitised images from patient biopsies and survival data, the aim is to test whether the tool can reliably predict the benefit of the various treatments. This would allow more effective selection of the most appropriate type of treatment. At a later stage, the aim is to evaluate the specific mutations present in each tumour and to analyse whether digital imaging is capable of predicting these. Hospital del Mar, in collaboration with Roche, has initiated the development of a pioneering artificial intelligence device to improve the diagnosis and prognosis of patients suffering small cell lung cancer. This is one of the lung cancers with the worst prognosis and having such a reliable tool will allow medical teams to determine the best treatment for each type of patient.
Més informació "Artificial intelligence for selecting the best lung cancer treatment"
12/08/2021 - Press release
A study led by doctors and researchers from Hospital del Mar, the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM), and CIBER Oncology (CIBERONC) has demonstrated the role a protein, neuregulin, plays in generating resistance to the most common treatment for HER2-positive breast cancer, one of the most aggressive types. The study, published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research, and in which leading Italian researchers Luca Gianni from the Fondazione Gianni Bonnadonna and Giampaolo Bianchini from the IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele have collaborated, has identified that in patients with high levels of this protein, the success rate with the monoclonal antibody trastuzumab, the first-line drug, drops. Conversely, when combined with another monoclonal antibody, pertuzumab, the situation is reversed and full pathological response levels are restored.
06/08/2021 - Press release
A Hospital del Mar project to determine new prognostic and predictive markers that could be beneficial in metastatic small cell lung cancer treatment, using genetic analysis techniques, has been awarded $200,000 from the Oncomine Clinical Research Grant programme, promoted by the US-based multinational biotech company Thermo Fisher Scientific, which supports research that enables advances in the field of molecular patient profiling, with the aim of improving clinical outcomes. The research was led by Dr. Edurne Arriola, head of the lung cancer section in the Medical Oncology Service and a researcher at the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM), and Dr. Beatriz Bellosillo, head of the Medical Oncology Service and also an IMIM researcher. To undertake the project, they will analyse samples from 300 patients with this pathology, collected over the last 10 years. The research will focus on evaluating the potential of the liquid biopsy technique, which can detect DNA from tumour cells in the blood, to monitor the disease and its evolution, as well as detecting potential biomarkers of treatment benefit and predictors of long-term prognosis.
Més informació "$200,000 grant for lung cancer research at Hospital del Mar"
Combining chemotherapy with a BRAF oncogene inhibitor proves effective at treating this disease. The study, published in the journal Oncogene, was led by researchers from the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute, Hospital del Mar and CIBERONC. This alternative paves the way towards a new approach for patients affected by this type of tumor, which has no cure in the most advanced stages or cases of relapse.
Més informació "A new approach to metastatic melanoma discovered"
21/06/2021 - Press release
As a result of the collaboration between research centres in Italy and Spain, the PEGASUS study has been launched with the aim of demonstrating that, thanks to the liquid biopsy guidance tool, it is possible to increase the precision of post-surgical treatment for colon cancer patients. The Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO), part of the Vall d'Hebron Campus, and the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM), both in Barcelona; and the INCLIVA Health Research Institute at Hospital Clínico in Valencia, are the three Spanish centres taking part in this project. The study was instigated by Dr. Silvia Marsoni, from the FIRC Institute of Molecular Oncology (IFOM) in Milan, and is supported by the AIRC Foundation within the 5x1000 programme, which is coordinated by Prof. Alberto Bardelli of the University of Turin and the Institute of Candiolo FPO-IRCCS.
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