The Clínica Universidad de Navarra and the research center Médica Aplicada (CIMA) are going to develop a project vaccine therapy to prevent liver metastasis of colon cancer. The work, funded by the Fundación Científica de la association Española contra el Cáncer (aecc) with 120,000 euros for 3 years, will allow to continue the research in this field that both centers have been developing in close partnership for more than 10 years.

Colon cancer is currently the second most lethal cancer in the world, accounting for 15% of all carcinomas. An estimated 450,000 new cases are detected each year. "Our interest is focused on the liver metastases of this pathology, since when it is diagnosed there are secondary tumor foci in 15-20% of cases, most frequently located in the liver," explains Carlos Alfaro, PhD in Biology and researcher of the laboratory of Immunology and Gene Therapy at CIMA of the University of Navarra.

Efficacy of immunotherapy

Conventional treatment of this pathology (a combination of surgery and chemotherapy) cures 40% of patients. Currently, new alternative therapies are being investigated, such as immunotherapy, an approach based on stimulating the patient's own immune system so that it is capable of recognizing and eliminating tumor cells. Immunotherapy," adds Dr. Alfaro, "has shown efficacy especially in patients with residual disease, since there are fewer cancer cells," issue . Our study will apply dendritic cells artificially loaded with tumor cell antigens to increase the antitumor immune response. The goal is to achieve vaccines that prevent the appearance of tumor metastases after surgical treatment".

At CIMA and Clínica Universidad de Navarra , under the supervision of Dr. Ignacio Melero, the clinical monitoring of essay will be carried out; that is, to determine the immunological mechanisms of treatment performance, as well as to analyze possible points to improve for future programs of study . The clinical essay will be carried out at the department de Oncología, directed by Dr. Jesús García-Foncillas; and at the laboratory GMP of the Clínica Universidad de Navarra, the procedures for stimulating dendritic cells, as well as combinations of treatments to achieve more intense therapeutic effects. "We hope that the new therapies will complement the existing ones to achieve, in the near future, an improvement in the quality of life and life expectancy of patients," says Dr. Alfaro.

More information about the Scientific Foundation of the aecc

One of the main objectives of the AECC is the quality oncology research . With this purpose the Scientific Foundation was born on October 25, 1971.

The Foundation brings together the social demand of research against cancer, financing by public tender programs of research scientific and social. These programs are aimed at achieving advances in science to improve the future of sick people and their families and to consolidate a scientific structure in Spain, bringing the achievements to society as a whole.