A work of the research center Applied Medicine (CIMA) of the University of Navarra has been awarded as one of the best Pharmacy initiatives of the year. The award was awarded by the magazine Correo Farmacéutico, which also recognized the project Edumay of the School de Farmacia.

The CIMA study, developed by the laboratory on Adhesion and Metastasis, uncovers the mechanism of lung cancer tumor cells to destroy bone. With this finding, published in the scientific journal Cancer Research, the researchers have identified the keys to stop this malignant progression in animal models.

Further research could lead to clinical trials for application in humans. According to statistics, around 30,000 new cases of lung cancer are diagnosed annually in Spain. In 30-40% of patients, the tumor spreads to the bones. Bone metastasis is usually detected very late, often at the same time as the cancer is diagnosed.

Dr. Fernando Lecanda, researcher lead author of the study, explains that there are currently no effective pharmacological therapies for this currently irreversible process. "This work opens up a field for designing drugs capable of halting metastatic progression in which 4 genes are involved: PRKD3, MCAM, SUSD5 and TCF4".

The scientists Fernando Lecanda, Iker Antón, Ignacio García-Tuñón and Diego Luis-Ravelo, from area Oncology; and Francisco Borrás and Javier Dotor, from area Gene Therapy and Hepatology, took part in the study. Also participating were Silvestre Vicent, researcher of CIMA who is doing a postdoctoral stay at Stanford University (USA), and Javier de las Rivas, director of group of Functional Genomics of research center of Cancer (CIC) of the University of Salamanca.