Tomorrow is International Children's Day with Cancer. Childhood cancer cannot be prevented or detected early. Therefore, the fight against this disease lies in the diagnostic and therapeutic task.
The Spanish Association Against Cancer (aecc), aware of this reality, has opted for support research in these types of tumors becoming the first entity that has developed a specific line of biomedical research in childhood cancer.
In this line, one of the projects carried out at the Clínica Universidad de Navarra by Dr. Fernando Lecanda stands out. This project investigates therapeutic targets for metastatic childhood osteorsarcoma, a tumor whose survival barely reaches 30% of cases since so far neither conventional therapies have managed to diminish the devastating effects of metastasis. Osteosarcoma constitutes the most common malignant bone tumor in children and adolescents. Despite the efforts made in recent decades, survival is between 50-70%.
The aecc has open 11 childhood cancer projects with a funding of € 1,886,129
The achievement of the objectives foreseen with this project, It will decisively influence the clinical approach, anticipating the spread of tumor cells with more selective therapeutic approaches, thus reducing the sequelae of current treatments and favoring the increase in the quality of life and survival of patients.
This action is the result of a multicenter and collaborative effort, and in it, in addition to the Clínica Universidad de Navarra, nine other Spanish centers have been involved.
Childhood cancer in developed countries
It is a pathology that It is the leading cause of death in children due to illness. In Spain they are detected between 1,000 and 1,100 new cases per year in children aged 0 to 14 and, statistically, the childhood tumor represents between 0.5% and 1% of the total neoplasms of the cases diagnosed in adolescents.
Despite this, we should be happy because since the 80's mortality has decreased by 50% and currently the survival rate is close to 100% in some tumors such as Retinoblastomas and Hodgkin's Lymphomas.
The aecc, in addition to betting strongly on childhood cancer research, also works from support and accompaniment programs to children with cancer and their families with residences and shelters or leisure and free time programs, not forgetting prevention campaigns and education in healthy lifestyle habits.
