2017 was a particularly productive year for CRIS Research Teams. Our joint efforts are gradually bearing fruit, and we continue to make steady strides towards better treatments and the eradication of cancer.
Adult Cancer Research Projects:
CRIS Unit for translational Research and Clinical Trials in Hematology: |
The CRIS Unit currently has more than 100 clinical trials under way. Amongst them are the most advanced therapies, including CAR cell therapies, the first myeloma treatments based on combinations of 4 drugs pursuing a curative goal, and the most cutting-edge immunotherapy trials.
We have also been in the news lately as a result of discovering a new non-invasive, quick, easy and cheap spinal cord blood analysis method, which detects the tumour’s “fingerprint” in myeloma patients.
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CRIS Prostate Cancer Project: |
Our investigators have demonstrated the efficiency of the innovative so-called PARP inhibitors in prostate cancer patients with BRCA2 mutations. These mutations are highly frequent in patients with prostate cancer resistant to conventional therapies. The relevance of these mutations has been demonstrated in the clinical trial PROREPAIR B, which has aroused great interest within the scientific community.
Furthermore, the group has been awarded several prizes and grants, amongst them the prestigious Prostate Cancer Foundation Prize awarded to Dr Elena Castro.
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CRIS Breast Cancer Project: |
In Triple -Negative Breast Tumours: The group has set the foundations for a specific treatment of these types of tumours, which are currently lacking a specific therapy. The therapy is based on drugs that attack proteins regulating cellular multiplication, in combination with other innovative compounds called BET inhibitors.
In Her2+ Breast Tumours: A clinicaI trial has been completed on Stage I patients, ascertaining the safety of a new combination of drugs against Her2+ tumours resistant to conventional therapies.
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CRIS Ovarian Cancer Project: |
The group has published two significant scientific papers regarding Bet-type protein inhibitors, which have been shown to be very effective against ovarian tumour cells. They have also shown the effectiveness of a new combination of compounds, called Aurora A and CHEK1 inhibitors. These results are important, as around 10% of women suffering from ovarian cancer have the Aurora A and CHEK1 mutations
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Children’s Cancer Research Projects:
CRIS Children’s Cancer Advanced Therapies Unit: |
The refurbishment of the Advanced Therapies Unit on the 8th floor of La Paz Maternity and Children’s Hospital is now close to completion. When completed, the Unit will feature 10 bedrooms, 4 of which shall be state of the art isolation chambers for children requiring haematopoietic progenitor transplants. The Unit will open in March 2018.
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Lydia Project: Clinical Trial for Children with Acute Leukaemia without treatment alternatives |
The Lydia Project has been completed with great success, where 30% of children without other treatment options or resistant to treatment have benefited from NK cell therapy. This has allowed the team to launch the next phase of the trials, a Stage II trial called Lydia II, with the goal of preventing relapses. This trial includes patients in all of Spain (Bilbao, Malaga, Madrid, Murcia and Badajoz), and will probably be completed during 2018.
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NK Therapy in Children with Cancer: |
A significant paper has been published combining the innovative CAR technology and a cell therapy based on T memory cells, long duration cells that can destroy tumour cells very efficiently. The group is currently completing the paperwork to launch a clinical trial in 2018, based on these promising therapies.
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MLL Leukaemia Project. Sant Joan de Deu, Barcelona: |
The group is on the verge of completing a Project consisting of seeking new treatment alternatives for MLL leukaemia, by analysing genetic mutations and other alterations affecting cell behaviour. Furthermore, for 2018, they will start a new line of research on this Project: the goal is to seek and validate new diagnostic and prognostic tools for the most aggressive lymphoblastic an myeloblastic leukaemias.
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CRIS Ewing Sarcoma Project: |
The Project is on the cusp of completing the validation of a diagnostic tool to predict the aggressiveness of each child’s sarcoma. This method is simple, cheap and easy to apply in clinics, as it is based on FISH technology, which is widely used in diagnosis. This method will be a very useful tool for physicians in choosing the most effective therapy for each patient.
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Cris Research Fellowships:
In 2017, the CRIS Foundation financed 10 research fellowships, lasting between six months and one year, to allow Spanish researchers travel to centres of reference abroad and acquire expertise and techniques that may advance research and therapies applied in Spain. CRIS quadrupled the amount allocated to fellowships, currently set at 300,000 Euro.