Breast cancer includes many clinicopathological entities.

Diagnosis, treatment, general awareness and situation of patients with Breast cancer has changed a lot over the past 50 years. Although the survival rate is close to 90%, there are still cases that are difficult to approach, disease relapses, toxicity and comorbidities of current treatments and overall unmet needs, problems that remain “hidden” from the public eye and that require more awareness and additional research. According to Spanish Society of Medical OncologyEvery year, 35,000 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed, of which 5 to 6% metastasize. In addition, up to 30% of patients may experience relapse, so they will be faced with situations that require a more complex clinical approach with the need to identify new therapeutic targets that improve their prognosis.

In line with this premise and on the occasion of World Breast Cancer Day, which is celebrated annually on October 19, AstraZeneca launched a campaign Pink armchairspace who wants to become a symbol promote research and knowledge about the reality of this disease and challenges yet to be overcome.

Through a series of video interviews, this campaign gave a voice to people who not only know about the disease, but want to take a step forward to change the reality of breast cancer by advancing research.

One of the first to sit in this chair was Dr. Cesar A. Rodriguez, oncologist at the University Hospital of Salamancawhich reflected changes in clinical care over recent decades and the challenges ahead. “Since I began seeing women with breast cancer 30 years ago, things have changed significantly. First and foremost, we know that breast cancer is not a single disease, but rather a very diverse clinicopathological entity with different therapeutic approaches.” explains. “This has led to the extremely rapid development of new, much more selective treatment strategies. which makes the treatment of a patient with breast cancer today an almost individualized strategy“.

He also took part in the campaign Paula Gonzalez Pena, Representative of the Spanish Federation of Breast Cancer (FECMA). “Advances allow us to look at the diagnosis differently and enable us to see ourselves as possible long-livers because our ability to fight the disease has improved significantly.“However, remember that women living with breast cancer are still suing.”comprehensive care that also responds to all those needs that may depend on our context and the moment in life in which we find ourselves, as well as on the psychosocial sphere

“.

For my part, Pilar Fernandez, President of the Spanish Association of Metastatic Breast Cancer (AECMM)also took advantage of the speaker Pink armchair talk about the specific situation of women suffering from this specific type of pathology,”the great unknown“He laments. “Metastatic breast cancer today continues to remain an incurable disease. If this is true, and we must send a positive message that thanks to research, new diagnostic methods and targeted therapies, our survival rate is getting older.”“, he clarifies.

However, we must not forget that”30% of people diagnosed with breast cancer have metastases, 6% have metastases from the onset of the disease, and the rest will develop it over the years.Pilar Fernandez recalls that metastatic breast cancer causes more than 6,000 deaths per year, being the leading cause of death in women aged 35 to 50 years.

For all this and since then Pink armchair from AstraZeneca explained that although she “I love pink”Breast cancer is often sweetened with messages of positivity and improvement this October dedicated to raising breast cancer awareness: “Positivity does not cure, research and therapy do.“.

Access to innovation and biomarker testing

Other themes raised by campaigners included the need to facilitate access to therapeutic innovation and clinical trials. It is necessary, for example, “ensuring patients have the greatest possible access to clinical trials“and let it be”smaller but more targeted, identifying specific molecular targets and biomarkers

“says Dr. Rodriguez and adds: “hourCurrently, there is no diagnosis of cancer in general and breast cancer in particular that is not accompanied by a set of biomarkers.“.

Finally, Martha Moreno, Director of Corporate Communications and Market Access AstraZeneca, Spaindetails about the campaign that “This chair is an open space in which we want to show that breast cancer is many different diseases with very different approaches, and in which we invite everyone who has close experience with this disease or wants to explore it to join. At AstraZeneca, we have a commitment to promoting precision medicine and working with administrations to ensure these advances reach patients, especially patients with metastatic breast cancer, as quickly as possible, to make their disease chronic or permanently cured“.