Dr. Elisabeth Pérez, an oncologist at the Hospital Costa del Sol in Malaga, has just joined the research center Applied Medicine (CIMA) of the University of Navarra to carry out a research stay thanks to award Carmen Lavigne. This award comes from the bequest that the Lavigne family left to the association Española contra el Cáncer (AECC) to promote research projects on cancer. With this recognition, the AECC rewards the best oncological project carried out in Spain with the aim of advancing in the knowledge of this disease. According to the latest report of the network Spanish Cancer Registries, in 2015 more than 247,000 new cases were diagnosed in our country.

The project, endowed with 36,000 euros, is aimed at implementing a clinical cancer immunotherapy essay with the so-called Natural Killer (NK) cells in patients with breast and colon cancer. "NK cells are self cells that naturally attack viruses and cancer cells. However, tumors have learned to trick them so that they do not recognize them. Taking advantage of this line of work that is already being developed in Pamplona, we are going to start a essay in mice with modified NK cells. If the results are positive, the goal is to return to the Hospital Costa del Sol in a year's time, take advantage of the experience acquired and the infrastructure available in Malaga and implement this research in Andalusia", he explains.

According to Dr. Perez, "my professional experience has been centered on the clinical attendance and on the direct contact with the patient and his or her family. This close relationship has pushed me to try to do something more to fight this disease. So last year I attended the Master's Degree in Immunotherapy in Oncology offered by the University of Navarra. There I personally met Dr. Ignacio Melero, researcher of the CIMA and the Clínica Universidad de Navarra and reference letter international in this medical discipline , and my interest in the basic research was reinforced. Now, thanks to award Carmen Lavigne, I am joining her team at CIMA to collaborate in her programs of study on immunotherapy".

A real hope against cancer

Immunotherapy has demonstrated its efficacy in the treatment of different types of cancer such as melanoma, lung cancer and renal cancer. Recently, it has also been shown to be effective in bladder cancer and head and neck tumors. "It is a real hope for patients, not only to cure but also to improve their quality of life. Immunotherapy uses drugs that act on the immune system, which significantly reduces side effects. However, not all patients benefit from this therapeutic approach, so it is important to continue researching this new form of cancer treatment," concludes the oncologist from Malaga.