ISCIII is strengthening its research into rare childhood cancers with the Advanced Treatments Project for Ewing’s Sarcoma.

ISCIII is strengthening its research into rare childhood cancers with the Advanced Treatments Project for Ewing’s Sarcoma.

Date/time of publication: Friday, February 16, 2024

Author: ERDF

News type: News typeInvestigation

Volume: State

News source: Institute of Health Carlos III (ISCIII) | Institute of Health Carlos III (ISCIII) through its Institute for Rare Disease Research (IIER), has worked for years on research into Ewing’s sarcoma, a type of childhood cancer that, due to its low prevalence in the population, is also considered a rare disease. This research has just been strengthened by the signing of an agreement between ISCIII and the Spanish Federation of Rare Diseases (FEDER), which will allow the development of a project on possible advanced treatments for Ewing’s sarcoma. The project is being led by an IIER-ISCIII researcher. Javier Alonso.

Ewing’s sarcoma is a bone tumor that affects children and adolescents. Like other cancers affecting childhood, it is a rare tumor, with around 30-40 cases diagnosed annually in Spain, and very aggressive, with a survival rate not exceeding 60%. These survival rates are particularly low in patients with metastases at diagnosis or in recurrent patients and do not exceed 20%. For this reason, and given the lack of more effective treatments, there is a need to develop research projects that will allow us to delve deeper into the molecular basis of the disease and identify new therapeutic targets that will allow us to develop more effective treatments with fewer side effects. .

The agreement will help the IIER-ISCIII Pediatric Solid Tumor Group, led by Javier Alonso, to delve deeper into assessing the specificity and biodistribution of possible advanced therapies (gene or cell therapy) and studying their effect on tumor growth.

In a previous study, Javier Alonso’s team from IIER-ISCIII found that a strategy based on CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology showed good results in treating a cell model of Ewing’s sarcoma. In addition, in recent years, this group has developed several cellular models that have proven very useful in the study of this pathology, and has made progress in understanding the molecular basis involved in the development of metastases in this type of childhood tumor.​

Through this new line of work, research into this type of childhood cancer will be enhanced, facilitating the development and production of viral vectors, in vitro specificity assays (in laboratory cell models), and in vivo biodistribution studies (in animal models). This agreement between ISCIII and FEDER consolidates the collaborative relationship that both organizations have maintained for many years, particularly fruitful in terms of participation in the evaluation of research projects. The project was created with the support of FEDER, the FEDER Foundation and the Hesperia Foundation to study these rare pathologies.

In addition, the agreement is a new example of the Institute’s work with patient associations, both in rare diseases and in other areas; In particular, IIER’s childhood cancer research area has collaborated in recent years with associations such as Fundación Sonrisa de Alex, Asociación Candela Riera, Asociación Todos Somos Ivan and Asociación Pablo Ugarte, among others. Continued collaboration with patients and their families to consolidate social impact and strengthen the commitment to biomedical and health research is one of the Institute’s commitments to the global goal of using science to improve people’s health.

Investments in the fight against childhood cancer: 12 million for 32 projects between 2018 and 2023.
​
ISCIII, through the Strategic Actions for Health (AES), the main funding instrument for biomedical and health research in Spain, annually provides various assistance for the execution of contracts and research projects to contribute to the development of health R&D in Spain. and promotes the professional careers of its research community, primarily those involved in health care.

The AES sets a priority for cancer and neoplastic diseases research and tumor research in particular. As part of this program, ISCIII has funded a total of 32 research projects on the topic of pediatric oncology between 2018 and 2023, amounting to 12.34 million euros.​

Share: