El Registro de Donantes de Médula Ósea consigue la certificación mundial por la calidad de su servicio

► El Registro de Donantes de Médula Ósea (REDMO), de la Fundación Josep Carreras, designado por el Ministerio de Sanidad como el único registro de donantes español, acaba de recibir la certificación de la World Marrow Donor Association (WMDA). Esta entidad aglutina a los 101 registros de donantes de médula ósea de todo el mundo.

► Esta certificación internacional reconoce al REDMO como un referente de calidad.

► El REDMO cuenta con 484.175 donantes disponibles, procedentes de todas las comunidades autónomas, y ha hecho posibles 13.576 trasplantes para pacientes de todo el mundo.

► Cada vez más hospitales de todo el mundo eligen a un donante español como el ideal para sus pacientes gracias a la calidad de servicio que ofrece el REDMO.

La certificación obtenida acredita que el REDMO desarrolla cada etapa del proceso de trasplante, desde la captación del donante hasta el seguimiento tras la donación de progenitores al paciente, cumpliendo con los más exigentes estándares internacionales de calidad. Al mismo tiempo, evidencia el máximo cuidado que la Fundación Josep Carreras contra la Leucemia presta al donante para asegurar su seguridad y bienestar.

Mediante este programa, la Fundación consigue ofrecer uno o más donantes compatibles para los pacientes que precisan un trasplante y no disponen de un donante familiar compatible, en un periodo medio de 27 días.

Este reconocimiento supone:

* Una mayor visibilidad de los donantes españoles en las bases de datos nacionales e internacionales.

* Una validación de los procesos internos del REDMO y de las entidades colaboradoras (bancos de cordón, centros autonómicos de donantes, centros hospitalarios de colecta de progenitores hematopoyéticos y centros de trasplante) de todas las comunidades autónomas.

* Una nueva certificación de calidad de los progenitores hematopoyéticos que el REDMO suministra a los pacientes en los centros de trasplante.

En febrero de 2019 se consiguió el primer paso, la «calificación» del REDMO, con una validez de cuatro años. En 2023 se solicitó pasar el siguiente y último paso del proceso, la certificación.

El pasado mes de diciembre, el REDMO recibió la visita de los certificadores internacionales de la World Marrow Donor Association (WMDA), a fin de verificar in situ el rigor del trabajo que este desarrolla en todos los ámbitos: promoción de la donación, colaboración con los centros de donantes implicados, hospitales y equipos de trasplante, registros y hospitales internacionales, servicios de transporte y, muy especialmente, cuidado y atención al donante.

Researchers find the key to genome-modifying drugs sensitivity in malignant blood diseases

A recent study led by Dr. Manel Esteller, Director of the Josep Carreras Institute, shows how DNA methylation profiling in a common type of blood cancer, myelodysplastic syndrome, predicts whether the patient will respond to treatment. This type of cancer can progress to acute myeloblastic leukaemia, a much more serious disease. The outcomes could help in the early detection of patients who are resistant to demethylating drugs and in the design or administration of alternative treatments.

There are many anti-cancer genes that are no longer active in human tumours, preventing them from carrying out their protective function against cell transformation. One of the main mechanisms used by cancer cells to silence these ‘good’ genes is the addition of a chemical modification called methylation, which results in the loss of gene expression. As this is a simple addition of a single “methyl” group, drugs have been designed to erase this signal and they have already been approved for use in cancer. These hypomethylating drugs are mainly used in malignant blood diseases such as leukaemia.

An article led by Dr. Manel Esteller, Director of the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute (IJC), ICREA Research Professor and Professor of Genetics at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Barcelona, published in the British Journal of Haematology, shows how the DNA methylation profiling in common leukaemia predicts whether the patient will respond to treatment.. The groups of Dres. Lurdes Zamora, Blanca Xicoy and Dr Francesc Solé from the Josep Carreras Institute, as well as researchers from the Vall d’Hebron Hospital and the University of Bologna, have also collaborated in the study.

«Our research has analysed nearly 1 million genome methylation signals in patients affected by a type of blood cancer called myelodysplastic syndrome and who have been treated with the demethylating drug. We have found an epigenetic ‘fingerprint’ that is associated with a good clinical response to these drugs, which can help in the early detection of patients who are resistant to demethylating drugs and in the design or administration of alternative treatments», comments Dr Esteller on the article published in the official journal of the British Society of Haematology.

Dr Esteller says they detected general patterns linked to the efficacy of the hypomethylating drug, but also single genes, which could facilitate the development of rapid and relatively inexpensive biomarkers to select responder patients and prepare rescue strategies for the rest. The researcher adds: «The genes we have found give us clues about the mechanisms involved in hypomethylating agents’ sensitivity. Some of them are tumour suppressor genes that now ‘wake up’ to inhibit tumour proliferation, as expected. In other cases, however, what the genes reactivation by the drug is likely to do is to produce proteins (antigens) and other molecules that alert our immune system to fight the disease. These data further support the use of cancer immunotherapy, which is likely to work even better in combination with the use of epigenetic drugs, such as the demethylating drugs included in our study».

Investigadores españoles diseñarán proteínas mediante IA para hacer más eficientes las terapias avanzadas

  • El Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades en colaboración con el Centro para el Desarrollo Tecnológico y de Innovación (CDTI), lo han seleccionado como unos de los 40 proyectos que aborda un reto prioritario para la sociedad y la economía, y lo financiarán con 3,8 millones de euros
  • El proyecto se realizará en un consorcio público-privado formado por VIVEbiotech, Integra Therapeutics y OneChain Immunotherapeutics, la UPF, el IBMB-CSIC y el CIEMAT durante los próximos 4 años

Investigadores de las empresas VIVEbiotech, Integra Therapeutics y OneChain Immunotherapeutics, el Departamento de Medicina y Ciencias de la Vida de la Universidad Pompeu Fabra (UPF), el Instituto de Biología Molecular de Barcelona (IBMB-CSIC) y el Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas (CIEMAT) se han unido para diseñar con inteligencia artificial y producir partículas virales de nueva generación que se aplicarán en terapias avanzadas. Estas partículas se podrían utilizar en las inmunoterapias, como el tratamiento por CAR-T, para tratar múltiples cánceres y enfermedades raras como la anemia familiar por deficiencia de la piruvato quinasa. 

El proyecto ha sido seleccionado por el Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades y el Centro para el Desarrollo Tecnológico y de Innovación (CDTI) después de valorar el impacto que puede generar en la salud, se llevará a cabo entre 2024 y 2027, y recibirá una financiación 3,8 millones de euros en el marco del programa TransMisiones.

«Estamos contentos de anunciar esta alianza con empresas y centros de investigación españoles con amplio conocimiento y experiencia en toda la cadena de valor en la investigación, desarrollo y fabricación de terapias avanzadas para el tratamiento de enfermedades raras y oncología» comenta el Dr. Gurutz Linazasoro, CEO de VIVEbiotech. VIVEbiotech, con sede en San Sebastián, es una compañía especializada en el desarrollo y la fabricación de vectores lentivirales.

La Dra. Avencia Sánchez-Mejías, CEO y cofundadora de Integra Therapeutics, compañía que desarrolla herramientas de escritura genética en Barcelona, explica que incorporar la IA como aliada en la terapia celular tiene un gran potencial: «Los algoritmos de IA que se utilizan para el procesamiento de textos, por ejemplo con ChatGTP, también se pueden aplicar en biología. La herramienta que crearemos nos permitirá diseñar nuevas secuencias de ADN y nuevas funciones de proteínas que antes no eran factibles, y obtener más rápidamente un producto terapéutico universal para una enfermedad específica».

La terapia celular es una técnica importante para el tratamiento de enfermedades complejas o de mal pronóstico. Tradicionalmente la terapia celular se ha realizado en células extraídas de los pacientes que, después de ser modificadas en el laboratorio, son readministradas al paciente.

«Con el avance que proponemos, la terapia CAR-T podrá llevarse a cabo directamente dentro del paciente, administrándole estos nuevos vectores virales, lo que representa importantes ventajas respecto a la manufactura ex vivo en ahorro de tiempo y coste y también en comodidad para el paciente que ya no tendrá que someterse a la aféresis, es decir, a la extracción de sus células» explica el Dr. Víctor Manuel Díaz, director Científico de OneChain Immunotherapeutics. OneChain Immunotherapeutics es una spin-off del Instituto Josep Carreras que desarrolla terapias CAR-T para enfermedades oncológicas.

«Mediante la aplicación de la IA con técnicas de evolución dirigida, optimizaremos la eficiencia y precisión del proceso de identificación, dirección y entrega de las nuevas partículas virales a células concretas del organismo del paciente para que actúen, únicamente, en aquellas células que necesitan ser tratadas» detalla el Dr. Marc Güell, que dirige el Laboratorio de Biología Sintética Traslacional en la UPF.

Por su parte, el grupo de Inteligencia Artificial para el Diseño de Proteínas de la Dra. Noelia Ferruz en el IBMB-CSIC se centrará en la implementación de modelos de lenguaje para la generación de proteínas con propiedades a la carta. «Estos modelos mejorarán retroalimentándose con los resultados obtenidos por el resto de miembros del consorcio, alcanzando cada vez eficiencias más elevadas» ha comentado Ferruz.

La vehiculización de las herramientas de terapia génica y edición génica es, seguramente, el reto más importantes en el desarrollo de alternativas terapéuticas eficaces cuando la célula diana a modificar es la célula madre hematopoyética. «La generación de vectores eficaces para la modificación genética de células madre hematopoyéticas nos permitirá abordar un número importante de enfermedades raras, sin una cura eficaz a día de hoy, y que son devastadoras para los pacientes afectos y todo su entorno familiar y social» comenta el Dr. José-Carlos Segovia, jefe de la División de Tecnología Celular en el CIEMAT.

Aunque este proyecto se focalizará en hacer más seguras y eficientes las inmunoterapias que se usan para tratar cánceres y la edición de células madre hematopoyéticas, que permitirá tratar enfermedades raras cómo las anemias familiares hereditarias, en un futuro, esta técnica se podría aplicar para el tratamiento de enfermedades autoinmunes y el envejecimiento.

OneChain Immunotherapeutics receives support to advance a new promising CAR T therapy for a rare leukaemia with no therapeutic alternatives

A consortium led by OneChain Immunotherapeutics, spin-off of the Josep Carreras Institute, receives support from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities to advance a groundbreaking therapy for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia type T into clinical phase. The therapy, based on CAR T technology, targets two new therapeutic markers with minimal presence in healthy tissues, enhancing treatment efficacy and the number of treatable patients.

The consortium led by the company OneChain Immunotherapeutics (OCI), spin-off of the Josep Carreras Institute (IJC) and Dr. Pablo Menéndez, has received support from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities to bring an innovative therapy to the clinical phase. This therapy could treat up to 80% of patients with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (T-ALL), a rare condition with few therapeutic options, affecting children (60%) and adults. The project, set to last three years, will involve collaboration with the IJC and the Blood and Tissue Bank (Banc de Sang i Teixits).

The treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia type T, one of the most aggressive forms of leukaemia, has historically relied on intensive chemotherapy. Despite improvements in survival rates, this therapy results in devastating effects for patients. Furthermore, a significant percentage of them do not respond to treatment. «For patients who have experienced a relapse, finding effective treatments is particularly challenging,» explains Dr. Víctor M. Díaz, research director at the company, «our therapy brings hope to these patients».

OCI’s approach is based on CAR-T technology, a type of immunotherapy that involves extracting immune cells from the patient to modify them in the laboratory, enhancing their ability to recognize and attack cancer cells and has shown great promise in other forms of leukaemia and lymphoma. «Our aim is to develop this therapy over the three years of the project to initiate a first clinical trial in humans», Dr. Díaz adds.


Attacking the same cell through different targets
The therapy developed by OCI will simultaneously target two markers present on cancer cells, making it more effective than single-target therapies and expanding the number of treatable patients. CAR T therapy has not yet become a consolidated option against T-cell leukaemia, such as T-ALL, because tumour and healthy T cells exhibit almost the same molecules on their surface. As a result, CAR T therapies aimed at T-ALL destroy both types of cells, leading to severe immunosuppression in patients.

OCI has already developed a CAR-T therapy directed at the CD1a protein, a safe target with little presence in healthy cells. However, this molecule is present in cortical T-ALL (coT-ALL), a subset of T-ALL, representing only 30-40% of T-ALL patients. «The first CAR T therapy we developed, targeting the CD1a antigen, is already in clinical trials, demonstrating its safety and efficacy for a specific group of patients», Dr. Díaz explains. «By incorporating a second target into our strategy, we do not only increase the percentage of patients we could treat—up to 80%—but also enhance the effectiveness of the therapy».

The grant has been awarded in the call for public-private collaboration projects by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation.It is the result of recognition awarded to projects that have already reached an advanced phase of development and are ready to transition to clinical application. «We are in a unique position to make a real difference in the lives of patients, expanding our therapies to include those who previously had few options», Dr. Díaz says.


Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia Type T: A Rare Disease
Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) is a type of cancer affecting the bone marrow, the soft tissue within our bones where blood cells are produced. It is characterized by the excessive production of immature lymphocytes (white blood cells) that do not function properly. These abnormal lymphocytes rapidly multiply, interfering with the production of healthy blood cells and can spread within a few months to different parts of the body, such as the lymphatic system, liver, or spleen.

It is an aggressive and uncommon cancer, with an incidence of around 1.5 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in high-income countries. Depending on the affected cell type, there are two types of ALL, B-cell ALL (ALL-B) and T-cell ALL (ALL-T). The latter, which this new therapy targets, is even rarer, with about 100 cases diagnosed per year in Spain, accounting for approximately 10-15% of all acute leukaemia in children and between 20-25% in adults.

It is a highly heterogeneous disease with many subtypes, which complicates research and the development of effective treatments. Therefore, innovation and the development of targeted therapies are essential to increase treatment options for these patients.

Awakening leukaemic stem cells to make them sensitive to chemotherapy

Researchers from the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute found that inhibiting the hypoxia response in childhood Acute Myeloid Leukaemia tumours help sensitize leukaemic stem cells, those expanding the tumour, to Cytarabine, the standard of choice chemotherapy. Leukaemic stem cells activate the hypoxia system in the bone marrow to endure its natural low oxygen concentration, making them resistant to anticancer drugs. The results, obtained in vitro and in vivo, pave the way towards an efficient new combinatorial treatment for patients, after diagnosis or relapse.

Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML) is the most common leukaemia in adults, but a rare disease among children. Despite childhood AML has an incidence of around 7 cases per million in developed countries, with an overall survival around 75%, there is still room for improvement: up to 40% of the children relapse, with roughly a 30% probability of long-term survival.

AML progression relies on a specific subset of very scarce cells called Leukaemic Stem Cells (LSC), found in the bone marrow, that are resistant to standard of choice chemotherapy, such as cytarabine, leading to relapse after an apparently successful treatment. Previous research found that LSC happen to be in a dormant state due to the low concentration of oxygen in the bone marrow (hypoxia conditions) and that could greatly explain their resistance.

In a recent publication at the journal HemaSphere, an official journal of the European Hematology Association, researchers from the Menéndez Lab at the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute found that treating the tumour cells with an inhibitor of the hypoxia response would sensitize LSC to Cytarabine and help significantly reduce the population of these cancer-promoting cells, both in vitro and in vivo. The research was a joint collaboration between the Menéndez Lab and researchers from other institutions in Spain, France, The Netherlands and Australia.

The team, spearheaded by Dr. Talia Velasco (former member of the Menéndez Lab), used state-of-the-art technology to identify high-risk childhood AML patients and analyse the transcriptional profile of thousands of individual leukaemic cells. The analysis showed that the hypoxia cellular system was overactivated in virtually all leukaemic cells compared with healthy cells. They then tested the sensitivity to cytarabine with and without BAY87-2243, an inhibitor of the hypoxia system, in cultured cells and in real tumours engrafted in specially produced lab mice.

The results showed that the combination of both drugs enhanced the effectivity of the treatment, with significant reductions of leukaemic cells. A few drawbacks should be addressed before the combinatorial approach becomes a reality in the clinic, since the delivery of drugs at the bone marrow is low and the potential interactions should be sorted out before. However, with the drugs already in the market, or very close to it, it should not take too long to figure it out and add a new bullet in the arsenal to fight against childhood acute myeloid leukaemia.

The research was funded thanks to the contributions of the MSCA H2020 program by the EU, the Asociación Española contra el Cáncer and the Deutsche Jose Carreras Stiftung.

The Bigas Lab finds Notch self-inhibition keeps haematopoietic stem cells from differentiate

A collaborative effort led by Dr. Anna Bigas, from the Hospital del Mar Research Institute and Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute, found that the population of haematopoietic stem cells (HSC) responsible for the generation and self-renewal of the blood and immune system keeps a long-term undifferentiated state thanks to its ability to physically block its own NOTCH1 receptor through the expression of JAGGED1, a specific NOTCH activator. Authors hypothesise that the lack of this previously unknown mechanism might be the cause for the poor performance of current approaches to generate HSC from induced pluripotent stem cells for regenerative medicine.

We all originate from a single cell, that multiplies over and over again to produce every tissue in our body and keep them healthy and working. This has two consequences: first, many of these cells must change, differentiate, to develop the specific functions of each tissue. Doing so, they lose the capacity to become other types of cells. Second, some cells must remain undifferentiated to regenerate and heal the tissue when needed. This is especially important in the blood, a tissue that continuously regenerates.

The question is, how does a cell know when to keep undifferentiated and when to move on? The simple answer is they tell each other. There is an intense crosstalk between cells in a tissue, and most of it comes from interactions through a protein on its surface, called NOTCH1. In some cells, when this protein binds to their ligands onto other cells, the message is to differentiate. Scientists have been trying to understand how undifferentiated cells ignore all this chatter while expressing NOTCH1.

In a recent paper published at the top journal Nature Communications, a team led by Dr. Anna Bigas, group leader at the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute and the Hospital del Mar Research Institute, found that the nondifferentiated Haematopoietic Stem Cells (HSC) block their own NOTCH1 protein with the protein JAGGED1, effectively isolating themselves from their cellular background. The findings have been possible thanks to the use of state-of-the-art technology, especially single-cell RNA sequencing and new imaging of protein interactions.

Also, the results of the analysis found that the interactions between NOTCH1 and JAGGED1 were far from being spontaneous, but a part of a predetermined cellular pathway. Indeed, they found a third protein, FRINGE, that fine-tuned the interacting regions of NOTCH1 and JAGGED to improve their contact areas and facilitate the binding.

aken together, the reported findings could explain why the efforts to grow a large population of stem cells in vitro for regenerative medicine fail to yield cells with the capacity to self-renew and differentiate in the long-term. Understanding and mimicking this cellular mechanism can pave the way for new advances in generating Hematopoietic stem cells.

The research team was spearheaded by Dr. Roshana Thambyrajah, at the Bigas-Espinosa Lab, and counted with the collaboration of Dr. Eduard Porta and Dr. Manel Esteller’s groups at the Josep Carreras Institute, the Wellcome-MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, the University of Manchester, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares and the Bellvitge Institute for Biomedical Research. The work is also a collaboration with the Spanish networks CIBERONC and CIBER-BBN.

A new immunotherapy against multiple myeloma shows more effectiveness in experimental models than CAR-T already in use

Recent research by Dr. Pablo Menéndez’s lab at the Josep Carreras Institute, the Spanish National Cancer Research Center (CNIO) and the University Hospital October 12 shows how a new immunotherapy against multiple myeloma based on STAb cells is more effective in experimental models than the current CAR-T.

Immunotherapy is already improving treatment options for many cancers, but research groups continue to explore ways to boost the body’s immune system and use it against the tumour.

Researchers at the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute, the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) and the University Hospital 12 de Octubre have developed a new immunotherapy for multiple myeloma that has proved to be more effective in the laboratory than the current preferred immunotherapy.

The new immunotherapy is based on so-called STAb cells. It has been tested only in experimental models, so it has yet to pass clinical trials in humans and will therefore take at least two years before it reaches the clinic.

The study, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine involved Dr Clara Bueno and Dr Aida Falgas, from the Stem Cell Biology, Developmental Leukaemia and Immunotherapy group, and was coordinated by Dr. Luis Álvarez-Vallina head of the H12O-CNIO Cancer Immunotherapy Clinical Research Unit. It is a collaboration between this unit and the Josep Carreras Institute; the Hospital Clínic in Barcelona; and the Universities of Salamanca and Complutense of Madrid.

STAb cells
Multiple myeloma is the second most common haematological cancer in adults, after lymphomas. In 2020, 176,404 new cases of multiple myeloma were diagnosed worldwide and its incidence is estimated at 1.78 per 100,000 people.

In recent years, these cancers are beginning to be treated with CAR-T cell immunotherapy,” explains Luis Álvarez-Vallina, “which has been a substantial improvement over the therapeutic tools that existed before. Despite this, and although patients now have longer survival times, it is a disease in which a significant proportion of patients relapse, so relapse treatments are necessary.

Advantages over conventional CAR-T
CAR-T cell therapy, whose full name is chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy , involves modifying a patient’s T-cell immune cells (white blood cells) in the laboratory so that they are able to recognise and fight tumour cells.

Research has compared this treatment with another cellular immunotherapy based on or STAb-T cells, which can be considered an evolution of CAR-T cell therapies. In both cases, the laboratory-modified cells recognise the same antigen, called BCMA, which is only present on tumour cells. In this way, the modified cells target and attack only cancer cells.

The study now presented in Science Translational Medicine shows that STAb-T cells outperform CAR-T cells, because they can make other T cells in the body, which have not been modified, also fight cancer cells, thus amplifying the effect of the therapy.

In addition, STAb-Ts overcome an element that slows down CAR-Ts. In some patients with multiple myeloma, the BCMA antigen – which identifies tumour cells – is found in soluble form when there is a high tumour burden. It turns out that the fact that the antigen is soluble prevents the activity of CAR-T cells, but does not affect STAb-T cells, the now-published research shows.

Immune memory
“Finally, we also showed that STAb-T cells generate immunological memory”, says Álvarez-Vallina. After recreating the disease in model animals and treating them with STAb-T cells, the team obtained cells from various organs, mainly spleen and bone marrow, and observed the generation of memory STAb-T cells.

“This is very important”, explains Álvarez-Vallina, “because we know that the persistence of CAR-T cells in the body, i.e. immunological memory, is related to the extent of the anti-tumour effect and, therefore, to better control of the disease”.

The research group aims to carry out a clinical trial in collaboration with the 12 de Octubre University Hospital to treat people with multiple myeloma with this new STAb-T immunotherapy.

The Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute, has been selected by the National Cancer Institute for the Cancer Proteome Project with the support of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation

The Josep Carreras Institute becomes part of the Cancer Proteome Project, an international initiative for the study of malignant tumors

The Spanish Minister of Science and Innovation, Diana Morant, visited the Josep Carreras Institute on Thursday and announced a grant of one million euros to promote the project

The Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute, led by Dr. Manel Esteller and with the support of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, is joining the Cancer Proteome Project, a program to promote a line of research dedicated to the characterization of proteins in malignant tumors, which will allow us to learn more about the causes of leukemia

. On the occasion of the entry of the Josep Carreras Institute in the Cancer Proteome Project, the Spanish Minister of Science and Innovation, Diana Morant, visited the research center on Thursday and announced that the Ministry will allocate one million euros to promote this initiative. During her visit, Minister Morant was accompanied by Albert Carreras i Coll and Albert Carreras Pérez, representing the Carreras family, the director of the Institute, Dr. Manel Esteller; the president of the Delegate Committee of the institution, Dr. Evarist Feliu and the acting managing director of the Institute, Ana Garrido. The mayor of Badalona, ​​Rubén Guijarro, has also attended the event.

Over the last twenty years, many efforts have been made to identify the Cancer genome. Decoding the genetic alterations of human tumors has been largely possible thanks to The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), led by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in the United States, which sequenced the DNA of more than 500 tumor samples derived from every tissue and organ in the body.

However, there was still one key point missing in the research of the cell and molecular cause of cancer: the protein characterization, the product produced from our genetic material. In this respect, the NCI has recently launched the International Proteogenome Consortium (ICPC) program to obtain the profile of all altered proteins in all human tumors, the so-called “Proteome”. The Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute (IJC), led by Dr. Manel Esteller and with the support of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, has officially joined the consortium with the aim to discover the leukemia proteome.

“One in five cancers comes from blood or lymph nodes. Our work in this international program will be to disclose the proteome of leukemia, especially the so-called B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL). We will study in detail the altered expression and modification of the protein in this disease in both adult and pediatric populations, as well as their consequences in the clinical management of these patients and the discovery of new treatments against the discovered altered targets”– declares Dr. Manel Esteller, coordinator of the study.

Dr. Henry Rodriguez, Founding Director of the Office of Cancer Clinical Proteomics Research at the National Cancer Institute, and a member of President Joe Biden’s Cancer Research Advisory Council, said, “It is a great pleasure to acknowledge the research work of the Josep Carreras Institute. I am convinced that their aberrant-proteins characterization in leukemia, coupled with data on genome-wide alterations, will be a major breakthrough in personalized cancer medicine that will improve the quality of life and survival of patients.”.

  • Foto IJC seleccionado proyecto del Proteoma del Cáncer

The Villavecchia Foundation and the Josep Carreras Foundation take over the coordination of the reception device in Catalonia, led by SEHOP and the Aladina Foundation

After the arrival last Friday in Madrid of 25 children with cancer, today the flight with the second group of cancer children from Ukraine The Villavecchia Foundation and Josep Carreras Foundation, in coordination with hospitals and a group of entities that work in the field of childhood cancer in Catalonia, they manage the arrival and reception of these patients and their families.

Under the coordination of Department of Health and the Catalan Health Service, the children will be referred to the Barcelona hospitals of reference in the treatment of pediatric cancer, where they will be monitored: the Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, el Hospital Vall d’Hebron y el Hospital de Sant Pau.

All the medical and logistical equipment necessary for the arrival to Spain of the Ukrainian children with cancer has had the support of the Ministries of Health, Defense and Inclusion and Social Welfare.

  • Ukraine Image

Ukraine is in a dramatic humanitarian situation caused by the war. Thousands of children with cancer have had to stop treatment and the risk of limiting their chances of healing has increased.

Today the second group of Ukrainian children suffering from cancer arrived in Barcelona with their families. The operation has been possible thanks to the collaboration of the Sant Joan de Déu, Vall d’Hebron and Sant Pau hospitals; and the joint work of various organizations against childhood cancer in Catalonia (Association against Cancer – Catalonia, AFANOC, Enriqueta Villavecchia Foundation, Josep Carreras Foundation, Ronald McDonald Foundation), as well as the Catalan Red Cross. Interpreters, volunteers and a large group of people are helping to welcome and support these families, and many other entities are offering to collaborate.

The children have been referred to the three Catalan hospitals assigned to them, where Treatment will be resumed and comprehensive care will be provided at a healthcare, medical, social and emotional level.

A great collaborative project

This initiative is possible thanks to the collaboration of all the institutions and organizations involved, along with a large group of volunteers and Ukrainian citizens who have dedicated themselves to welcoming and helping the families.

The organizations that have collaborated closely to make this welcome a reality are: Association against Cancer-Catalonia, AFANOC, Enriqueta Villavecchia Foundation, Josep Carreras Foundation, Ronald McDonald Foundation and Catalunya Red Cross.

Many other entities are offering to join the cause in the coming months.