The scientific foundation of AECC and IDIBGI-ICO in Girona sign a covenant about a grand project of research into breast cancer

It is a project which will focus on the study of the implication of fat acids in the patogenesis of breast cancer and will study its applicability on the prevention, diagnostic and therapy of the pacient.

Girona, 6th. of May 2008.- The Scientific Foundation of the Associació Espanyola Contra el Càncer (aecc)*, the Catalan Institute of Oncology and the Biomedical Research Institute in Girona, at the Dr. Josep Trueta centre, signed today the covenant thanks to which the Scientific Foundation of the aecc will provide funds for the project of oncology research titled “Neo-síntesis d’Àcids Grassos en la patogènesis del Càncer de Mama”*.

The signing took place at the University Hospital Dr. Josep Trueta in Girona and it counted on the attendance of Ms.Isabel Oriol Diaz de Bustamante, vice-chairwoman of the aecc and its Scientific Foundation; Mr.Gabriel Coll de Tuero, chairman of the Executive Board of IdIBGi; Mr.Ramon López Lozano, chairman of ICO, and Javier A. Menéndez Menéndez, researcher of the Catalan Institute of Oncology and person responsible for the project.
The Project, which was assigned through public offer, will run for three years and counts on an allowance of €300,000. It is the biggest allowance ever for a project assigned to a non-profitable entity in our country. The objective of these convokings, which are given to four projects annually, is to provide support and promote the research par execellence in Spain.

According to Ms.Isabel Oriol, “giving this project by means of a national competition process we fulfill one of the objectives and the social demands of the aecc, which is to provide support to quality research in Spain, basically in the fight against cancer.”

A new approach to breast cancer

The Project of translational research will be directed by Dr. Javier Menéndez. It is titled “Neo-síntesis d’Àcids Grassos en la patogènesis del Càncer de Mama"*, and will be carried out at the Catalan Institute of Oncology, within the facilities of the Institute of Biomedical Research in Girona at Hospital Dr. Josep Trueta (IdIBGi*).

The presence of extremely high levels of fat acids synthesized inside of human cells and of the molecular factories responsible for their synthesis are phenomena which can be observed in a high percentage of pre-malignant injuries, and which keep steady and grow during the process of invasion and metastasis of breast cancer.

Among other objectives, the project intends to analyze the possible oncogenic function of this endogenic fat, as well as the pre-clinic development of antilipogenic drugs.

This would permit the setting of a new family of therapeutic agents with an anti-tumour action mecanism, capable of preventing and treating the malignant progress of breast cancer more efficiently.

Javier Menéndez

Born in Oviedo in 1972, Javier Menéndez is a Doctor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology by the Universidad Complutense in Madrid. He has worked at several centres in the United States and is nowadays the Coordinator of the Translational Research Unit (Molecular Oncology Laboratory) of the Catalan Institute of Oncology in Girona.

Scientific Foundation aecc

The Scientific Foundation of the Spanish Association against Cancer (aecc) has, among its proirity objectives, the one to help the research into oncology in Spain, because it is aware of the importance of this activity in the improvement of cancer diagnostic and treatment. It was with this aim that the Scientific Foundation was born on October 25th 1971. The Scientific Foundation is a channel of the social demand for cancer research and it consolidates the scientific structure of the country. It is a bridge between the scientific community and society in general, making the goals of research closer to everyone, and its aim is to improve the quality of the future of cancer patients.

The Spanish Association against Cancer (aecc)

The Spanish Association against Cancer (aecc) was founded in 1953 as a private non-profitable social entity, stated as being of public utility, whose objective is the fight against cancer in all its kwown types or the ones who may be known in the future. In order to suport the training of researchers and to promote oncology research, the aecc created the Scientific Foundation in 1971, which manages the funds devoted to this aim.

The work of the aecc is carried out under the philosophy of suport and cooperation with one another with the sanitary authorities, the scientific institutions and other entities which have the same objective as the Association. Altogether, always under the principles of independence, impartiality, transparency and objectivity.

The aecc has its headquarters in Madrid but it carries out its activity throughout the country thanks to its 52 provincial sees, with representatives in more than 2,000 towns and thanks to its 13,500 active volunteers.

The Biomedical Research Institute in Girona(IdIBGi), at the Dr. Josep Trueta centre

The Biomedical Research Institute in Girona(IdIBGi), at the Dr. Josep Trueta centre was created in July 2004 and was based on the Private Foundation Dr. Josep Trueta, founded in 1995 and on the Research Agency founded in 2000. The creation of IdIBGi is an important bet for the future of biomedical research within the area of Girona.

It is nowadays structured together with the best-consolidated groups of the Univeristy of Girona, the University Hospital in Girona (Dr. Josep Trueta), the Diagnostic Institute (ID), the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO), and the centres of Primary Assistance (AP). Its main objective is to promote quality research, to train new researchers, to promote and consolidate new research teams to acquire new knowledge and, when it is possible, transfer it to technology and transmit it to the society.

Since 2004, IdIBGi has been increasing year after year until it reached, in 2007, the amount of  €2,559,900, nearly twice as much it had obtained two years before (in 2005 its income had been €1,358,100). The average impact factor last year was 4.4, at the same level as other Catalan hospitals leaders in research, with a total of 85 articles published in scientific magazines.

The Catalan Institute of Oncology

The Catalan Institute of Oncology is a public institution, monographic about cancer, with an integral approach to this illness, which includes prevention, assistance, research and specialized training. ICO* is made up of three main assistance centres located in Hospitalet, Girona and Badalona, which work jointly with university hospitals of the ICS (the Hospital in Bellvitge, the Dr. Josep Trueta Hospital and the Germans Trias i Pujol Hospital). Moreover, it has stablished a network of 15 regional hospitals. This means that ICO has become the reference centre about cancer for more than 2.5 milion people (39% of the adult population in Catalonia).

For further information:

aecc
Ketchum/SEIS

Carolina Rodríguez-Solano / Victorino Ballestero
Tel: 91 788 32 00 Fax: 91 788 32 99

Institut d’Investigació Biomèdica de Girona Dr. Josep Trueta (IdIBGi)

Glòria Ametller Fradera
Tel: 972940240 / 647333280