20/01/2021 - General information
The Journal of Clinical Investigation has published a review authored by Michelle von Locquenghien, Catalina Rozalén, and Toni Celià-Terrassa, all members of the Cancer Stem Cells & Metastasis Dynamics Lab at the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM). In the article, they analyse current knowledge on the role of interferons -cytokines (proteins) involved in regulating the function of immune system cells- in the mechanisms that allow tumour cells to develop treatment resistance. The authors explain how the relationship between tumour cells and the immune system evolves as the cancer progresses, causing these cells to acquire systems that enable them to resist attack. They point out that the principal mechanisms used to achieve this are related to interferon signalling. In this respect, they highlight new evidence supporting immunotherapy-mediated immunoediting and show how interferons can impact either treatment response or resistance. All these factors lead the authors to support its potential as a therapeutic strategy in cancer.
Més informació "The role of interferons in tumour cell resistance to immunotherapy"
16/12/2020 - Press release
T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (T-ALL) is a cancer of the blood that affects mainly children, but also less frequently adults. In adults, although the response to treatment might be initially positive, relapses are common and have a poor prognosis. A collaborative project between IRB Barcelona's Biomedical Genomics lab, headed by ICREA researcher Núria López-Bigas, Anna Bigas' group at the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM-Hospital del Mar), and Josep Maria Ribera's lab at the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute (IJC) has discovered that the cells responsible for resistance to T-ALL treatment in adults are already present in the tumours before diagnosis.
25/11/2020 - Institutional news
The Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM) and the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute (IJC) have signed a collaboration agreement with the aim of jointly promoting scientific research, teaching and training personnel in the healthcare field, as well as pooling their efforts to efficiently manage public and/or private resources available for biomedical research activities in the field of haematology-oncology.
Més informació "Strategic alliance with the Josep Carreras Foundation for research into haematology"
30/11/2020 - General information
Dr. Dr. María Martínez, head of the neuro-oncology section of the Medical Oncology Service at Hospital del Mar and a researcher in the Cancer Molecular Therapy research group at the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute, will chair the Spanish Neuro-Oncology Research Group (Grupo Español de Investigación en Neurooncología; GEINO) for the next two years. Her appointment was confirmed on 27th November at the organisation's assembly, which was held virtually. Dr. Martínez explained that her objective at the head of GEINO is "To maintain and strengthen the execution of clinical trials in neuro-oncology, both for primary central nervous system tumours and brain metastases, and to continue down the same path as the previous chairmanship with regard to the most basic and translational researchers, as well as to build bridges and collaborate with other cooperative groups".
Més informació "Dr. María Martínez, new president of the Spanish Neuro-Oncology Research Group"
27/11/2020 - General information
Research involving doctors and researchers from Hospital del Mar and the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute, led by the INCLIVA Health Research Institute at Hospital Clínico in Valencia, directed by Dr. Pilar Eroles, Co-coordinator of the Breast Cancer Biology Research Group, has demonstrated, for the first time, that the under-expression of miR-33b is related to a poor prognosis in patients suffering HER2+, one of the most aggressive breast cancers and associated with a low survival rate.
29/10/2020 - Press release
The Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM), together with the INCLIVA Health Research Institute, from Hospital Clínic in Valencia, and the Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology, have obtained funding from the Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC) for their project entitled Factors derived from the tumoral microenvironment in localised colon cancer: clinical impact and therapeutic implications. Dr. Clara Montagut, head of the Gastrointestinal Cancer Unit in the Medical Oncology Service at Hospital del Mar, coordinator of the Clinical and Translational Research Group on new therapies and biomarkers in colon and rectal cancer at the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM) and a participant in the study, points out that "The goal of this research is to identify markers that will help us determine whether the cancer will re-emerge in a patient who has undergone colon cancer surgery. This is extremely important for people who have colon cancer, since at present we are unable to predict whether the tumour will reappear or not after surgery.
19/10/2020 - Press release
Last Friday, the FERO Foundation announced the winners of the 19th FERO Grants and the winner of the 2nd FERO-Mango Breast Cancer Research Project. The grants, worth €80,000 each, are intended to help young researchers develop their translational cancer research projects over a two-year period. "It is expected that 277,394 people will be diagnosed with cancer before the end of 2020. We cannot allow the pandemic scenario in which we find ourselves to detract from the treatment and survival opportunities of the thousands of patients who are currently struggling with cancer. That is why at FERO we are doing everything we can to ensure that COVID-19 affects doctors and patients as little as possible, and that resources continue to reach researchers and centres. One way of achieving this is by continuing to support projects through our grants", explains Sol Daurella, president of the institution.
05/06/2020 - Press release
Detecting the best research talents and providing these people with financial, structural and stability means advancing in cancer care via translational research projects that improve treatment and diagnosis through innovation with clinical application. This is the ambitious goal of the innovative and cutting-edge I CRIS Research Programmes promoted by CRIS against cancer, which have already received their first awards thanks to a meticulous evaluation and selection process led by a prestigious committee of international experts. Over the next five years, the three winning projects will focus on colorectal cancer (the second-ranked cancer in terms of deaths) prostate cancer (diagnosed in 1.3 million people each year), and immunotherapy, a highly innovative type of treatment that is changing the outlook of many cancers. "Research is our life and only through research are we going to find a cure for cancer. With the CRIS Research Programmes we want to detect the best research talent and provide these people with financial and work-related peace of mind. We want to discover and support the Nobel Prize winners of tomorrow and these first CRIS Programmes are just the beginning. In the next edition we will double the number of winners, underlining our commitment to research in spite of the current situation we are experiencing",explains Diego Megía, president of CRIS against cancer.
Més informació "Dr. Clara Montagut, awarded a I CRIS Programme of Excellence in Cancer Research"
Anna Bigas, CIBER Cancer (CIBERONC) researcher at the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM), was appointed the new Scientific Director of CIBERONC at the CIBER Standing Committee meeting held on March 26th. Anna Bigas takes over from Joaquín Arribas, who has held this position since CIBERONC was set up in 2016. The new Scientific Director, who has already been involved in coordinating two CIBERONC programmes, Mechanisms of Tumour Progression and Training and Mobility, is the second woman to head up one of CIBER's thematic scientific areas, after the appointment of Marina Pollán as director of CIBER Epidemiology and Public Health. Dr. Bigas highlighted "the enormous scientific potential of the groups comprising CIBERONC to collaboratively address major challenges in oncology, as has already been demonstrated on several occasions. At such a critical time as the present, we need to make even more effort to unite all possible human and economic efforts to progress in the fight against cancer. In this sense, CIBERONC is able to provide unique and valuable support, making this advance a reality".
Més informació "Anna Bigas, new scientific director of CIBER Cancer"
12/03/2020 - Press release
Researchers from the Stem Cell and Cancer Group at the Hospital del Mar Institute for Medical Research (IMIM) have led a study in which they have been able to determine the role of two molecules, Dll4 and Notch, and the importance of their relationship in the generation of blood stem cells. This is a very important step in the search to find a viable method for generating this type of cell in the laboratory. The study, which included researchers from the universities of Tel Aviv, Edinburgh, the Sorbonne in Paris, and Cambridge, has been published in The EMBO Journal. The group that led the study is one of the few Spanish teams working in this field, and for years they have been making breakthroughs in their research into blood stem cells and generating these in the laboratory, in the field of regenerative medicine. Right now, "We can make erythrocytes, platelets, a lot of blood products in the lab, but we have never been able to make a cell that has the characteristics of blood stem cells", explains Dr. Anna Bigas, coordinator of the group and first author of the study. Being able to find a method for generating this type of cell in the laboratory would allow patients with diseases like leukaemia, or certain genetic pathologies that affect the blood, and who do not have a compatible donor, to receive a haematopoietic stem cell transplant. In many cases this is the only treatment possible.
Més informació "Key piece in generating blood stem cells in the laboratory discovered"
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