5th Annual Conference of the Cancer Department at IRBLleida

The Cancer Area of the Biomedical Research Institute of Lleida (IRBLleida) held its 5th Annual Meeting on September 18 at the Raimat Wineries. This is a consolidated date in the calendar to share the latest research advances in the field. On this occasion, the event featured the participation of the head of the Cell Cycle and Cancer Group and director of the Systems Oncology Program at Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO), Marcos Malumbres, who delivered the opening lecture entitled "Evolving Strategies to Therapeutically Target the Cancer Cell Cycle."

As a highlight of this year's meeting, patients and representatives of the Oncolliga Lleida Association and the Spanish Cancer Association in Lleida, Antonio Clariana and Marisa Pon, took part in the meeting. Both also serve as members of the IRBLleida Patient Committee. The meeting included a session in which patients were able to learn about and evaluate the progress of eight scientific projects:

• Disruption of the pro-tumoral context in glioblastoma: modulation of ion channels in the different cellular populations involved. Dr. Judit Herreros and Dr. Carles Cantí, PID2022-138688OB-I00, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación.
• Proteomic approach to de novo diagnosed melanoma patients: impact on prognostic stratification and prediction of response to adjuvant treatment (PRO2-MEL). Dr. Anna Macià, PI24/1433, Instituto de Salud Carlos III.
• OncoNeoVac, a new immunotherapeutic approach for the treatment of melanoma. Dr. Joan Verdaguer, DTS23/00086, Instituto de Salud Carlos III.
• Involvement of ARID1A in tumor microenvironment remodeling and metabolic reprogramming in endometrial cancer. Dr. Núria Eritja, Fundación Contigo.
• Turning drug-induced senescence into a new therapeutic opportunity for the treatment of colorectal cancer. Dr. Águeda Martínez, PI23/01062, Instituto de Salud Carlos III.
• Novel therapeutic approach for colorectal cancer. Dr. Diego Arango, PI22/00773, Instituto de Salud Carlos III.
• Towards precision radiotherapy for rectal cancer patients. Dr. Diego Arango, PIRS-2024-06, Diputació de Lleida.
• Clinical and functional identification of metastatic colonization biomarkers. Dr. Eloi Garí and Dra. Sònia Gatius. PIRS-2022-05, Diputació de Lleida.

The evaluation was carried out through the assessment of scientific outreach posters specially prepared for the occasion by the research teams responsible for each project.