Fast like a cheetah, but also slow like a turtle. It is research. So it worked (and it still works). There is the one who pushed on the accelerator, obtaining the vaccine against Covid in record time. And then there is also the other research, that on cancer, forced to slow down and, in some cases, to stop.
Moles and tattoos: the risks in diagnosing melanoma
by Tina Simoniello
It is not a question of goat wool. The downside is obvious and a study confirms it. Because if on the one hand the pandemic has marked a setback in early diagnosis due to the forced stop of clinical consultations, laboratory tests and technological assessments such as Tac, Pet and Resonance, on the other hand, it has also put a spanner in the works of researchers engaged in the fight against cancer.
Pancreatic cancer, 130 avoidable deaths every year in Italy
by Fabio Di Todaro
With the result of a very high bill that, once again, will have a heavy impact on our health. Ultimately about our lives. Italy, universally recognized by all, occupies a prominent place in the world scientific community for the quality of its research. But today, and for a year now, the Covid-19 emergency has hit it very hard, as the survey shows Epidemic strongly affected cancer research in Italy, published a week ago on Esmo Open, the prestigious organ magazine ofEuropean society of medical Oncology (Esmo).
Covid: 1 in 10 cancer patients refuses vaccination
by Tiziana Moriconi
In May 2020, the Italian Cancer Society (Sic), the first association founded by scientists working in experimental and clinical oncology, launched a survey among researchers active in universities, Irccs and specialist bodies, to analyze the situation. In particular, to understand what happened in the laboratories during and immediately after the first national lockdown triggered in March 2020.
From Covid to cancer: the technology that upsets therapies
by Giuliano Aluffi
570 responded, including 178 managers of research facilities from 19 Italian regions. Desolating and above all alarming, the picture that emerged from the investigation. In summary, he explains Nicola Normanno, director of the research department of Pascale and president of Sic: “He revealed that, although the research was not among the activities to be interrupted, the laboratories engaged in the oncological front suffered a reduction in activities in 93 percent of cases, with a suspension of work in total presence for 48 percent of the participants, and partial for 36 “.
Cancer: “The fund for innovative drugs has been broken by 464 million euros. More resources are needed “
by Irma D’Aria
And that’s not all. There was also a “distraction”, let’s call it forced because it was dictated by events and professional ethics, by the individual fields of individual researchers. Somehow forced to reconvert on the Covid front. In fact, the study also reveals that 88.6% of scientists carried out their activities in smart-working, while 29 were involved in research, diagnostic activities or in any case support activities relating to the emergency for Sars- Cov-2. The greatest impact was found above all on the work entrusted to Junior group leader who identify with the young leaders of research groups.
Cancers, those with a BRCA mutation may respond better to immunotherapy
by Tina Simoniello
“So much so that at the end of the lockdown – he reports Fabrizio Bianchi, secretary of Sic and head of the Tumor biomarkers unit of the Irccs Relief House of Suffering in San Giovanni Rotondo (Foggia) – 19.5% of the participants had not returned to their studies, and in 85% of cases they had been organized a shift system to start over ”.
Tumors: new therapies, more healed. And a mountain of money
by Daniela Minerva
Yet. Only for 61% of the researchers, the work structure had foreseen a redistribution of dedicated spaces, while for 74% the restrictions on access to laboratories for some categories of personnel remained in place even during the return phase.
“All this shows how the response to the pandemic has been fragmented – he reflects Norman – because in many cases different strategies have been adopted, often aimed at limiting possible infections but without a clearly defined emergency plan “.
ASCO 2021
Prostate cancer opens the era of targeted nuclear therapy
by Tiziana Moriconi
The long-locked doors of many centers will have dire consequences. Primarily, on the possibility of identifying new technologies for the diagnosis and treatment of tumors. “In recent years we have seen tremendous progress in therapy, even of the most aggressive forms of cancer – he still reasons Norman – and thanks to the progress of research that is now undergoing a sharp slowdown due to the pandemic. This is why SIC, given the emergency situation that persists in many European countries, considers a reorganization of research centers to be urgent and indispensable. For example, by adopting a national contingency plan which, while respecting the safety of the operators, allows the continuation of work in the laboratories should epidemiological emergencies arise again. Above all, adequate investments are needed to make up for lost time: cancer research should be at the center of the agenda for Recovery Plan italiano”.
ASCO 2021
Lung cancer, ‘combo-immune’ reduces risk of death by 28%
by Irma D’Aria
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