"Clinical trials with immunotherapy are opening a door to the effective treatment of many types of cancer," says Dr. Ignacio Melero, researcher of the research center Applied Medicine (CIMA) and Clínica Universidad de Navarra. Melero participated in a presidential session of the congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO), which brought together more than 18,000 oncologists in Madrid.

Cancer immunotherapy consists of activating or redirecting the immune system's mechanisms against cancer cells, just as they do when fighting viral infections by destroying infected cells. "The efficacy of immunity for cancer treatment has been studied for decades in experimental animal models and the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in these beneficial effects have been identified," Dr. Melero notes.

In recent years, important spin-offs from the basic research have been harvested. In fact, the use of several immunomodulatory monoclonal antibodies to trigger immunity against melanoma (a cancer subject originating from the cells that pigment the skin) has recently been C . According to the University of Navarra's researcher , "this is only the tip of an iceberg, which will surely be followed by improvements in the treatment of many other malignant diseases".

programs of study pioneers in Spain

As has been the case with more conventional cancer treatments, the co-administration of the new immunotherapy agents produces a markedly superior effect than their individual application, known as a synergistic effect. "Several combinations of immunotherapy treatments are currently being tested in patients with spectacular data efficacy. For example, at Clínica Universidad de Navarra we have more than 20 cancer immunotherapy clinical trials open. This is a time of enormous expansion of clinical research in the development of treatments. We can speak of a golden age of immunotherapy," explains Dr. Melero.

The CIMA and the Clínica Universidad de Navarra started their research in immunotherapy twenty years ago, through a team multidisciplinary that combines basic science with clinical application. "This allows us to deepen our understanding of the mechanisms and offer patients new treatments with solid evidence of efficacy," says Dr. Melero.

The main driver of progress in this field is the enriching skill between pharmaceutical companies. "We must not forget that these successes have coincided with a global economic crisis that hinders funding in all countries, and even more so in ours. Despite the good scientific results, the fall in public funding is significantly slowing down the biomedical development in a country like Spain, which lacks a culture of donation and patronage by private initiative from companies and individuals. Economic resources in Spanish immunotherapy laboratories are more necessary than ever, now that we know that their results are of benefit to the patient," concludes Dr. Melero.