On Monday, November 14, 2022, the XXIII FERO Grants were presented at a charity dinner at The Westin Palace Hotel in Madrid.
The event, hosted by presenter Susana Griso and led by FERO Foundation President Sol Daurella, was attended by approximately 400 people, including prominent figures from the scientific and social spheres such as José Creuheras Margenat, President of Grupo Planeta and Atresmedia and a Foundation trustee.
During the event, €80,000 was raised, which will be allocated to the II FERO Dr. Baselga Grant, to be presented at the XXV edition of the FERO Grants in Madrid next year.
The Three Winning Translational Research Projects of the XXIII FERO Grants
In this edition, the XXIII FERO Grants and the IV FERO-Mango Project, each endowed with €80,000, were awarded to translational oncology research projects led by Dr. Alicia González Martín, Dr. Juan Miguel Cejalvo, and Dr. María Caffarel Muñoz.
The high quality of the research proposals submitted is noteworthy, as President Sol Daurella indicated, “once again the jury was impressed by the exceptionally high standard of the proposals received, which demonstrates that research in our country is a great asset to be promoted. We are convinced that all these projects will help us improve cancer treatment and we hope they will soon have an impact on patients.”
Enhancing Lung Cancer Immunotherapy Through microRNAs
Dr. Alicia González Martín, researcher in the Department of Biochemistry at the Autonomous University of Madrid and the Alberto Sols Biomedical Research Institute (IIB-CSIC/UAM), was the winner of the XXIII FERO Grant sponsored by AndBank.
Focused on lung cancer, one of the cancers causing the most deaths worldwide, her project aims to find new therapeutic targets to enhance the immune response against this type of cancer, given the negative response of many patients to cancer immunotherapies and the need to offer alternative therapies that strengthen the immune system to eliminate the tumor.
The study will focus on investigating the role of microRNAs in tumor immunology. “MiRNAs are promising targets for enhancing antitumor immunity due to their ability to effectively control immune cell function while simultaneously limiting the expression of a network of target genes encoding proteins,” the doctor explained.
The Role of AXL in Modulating the Tumor Microenvironment and Its Therapeutic Potential in HER-2 Positive Breast Cancer
The winner of the XXIII FERO Grant in breast cancer was Dr. Juan Miguel Cejalvo, researcher at the INCLIVA Health Research Institute in Valencia. His project will investigate the therapeutic potential of the AXL protein in the treatment of HER-2 positive breast cancer.
The project is based on the hypothesis that the AXL protein is a resistance biomarker that could play an important role in modulating the tumor microenvironment, causing resistance to HER2-targeted therapies. In this regard, the study proposes using AXL inhibitors as a new therapeutic strategy for HER-2 positive breast cancer patients with resistance to current therapies.
“In our laboratory we have identified a protein called AXL that binds to HER2. This binding causes resistance to treatments and now we want to study it in depth,” the doctor noted.
Inhibition of IL1RAP as a New Therapeutic Strategy in Advanced Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Identification of Response Biomarkers and Mechanisms of Action.
Dr. María Caffarel Muñoz, Ikerbasque researcher at the Biodonostia Health Research Institute in the Basque Country, was the winner of the IV FERO-MANGO Project in breast cancer, sponsored by MANGO. The project will study new therapeutic strategies for advanced triple-negative breast cancer through the identification of the response of specific biomarkers and mechanisms of action, such as the potential applications of IL1RAP inhibition, an important protein in the inflammatory microenvironment of tumors.
Chronic inflammation is one of the main drivers of tumor progression and interleukin-1 (IL1) is a key component in the inflammation of the tumor microenvironment.
“Many tumors have very high levels of the IL1RAP protein, which is a protein that forms part of the IL1 receptor. Our bioinformatic analyses associate IL1RAP expression with lower disease-free survival in triple-negative breast cancer,” the doctor explained.
