The Contigo Foundation against women’s cancer, promoted by the prestigious oncologist Javier Cortés, held its third charity dinner in Barcelona this Tuesday in which they raised 149,630 euros for research into the disease and ensuring that it becomes a chronic illness from which nobody die. In addition, at the evening, a grant of 80,000 euros was awarded to a research project on validation of genetic variants involved in the behavior of breast and endometrial cancer.
Investigation
Validation of genetic variants involved in the clinical behavior of breast and endometrial cancer
The night for Breast Cancer, which took place at the Llotja de Mar in Barcelona, brought together 400 people with a common goal: to contribute their grain of sand to the crucial research. During the event, the II Contigo Esther Balletbó Scholarship was awarded, which provides 80,000 euros for a Clinical and/or Translational oncology research project. The award in this edition went to the Variancáncer project, which studies the validation of genetic variants involved in the clinical behavior of breast and endometrial cancer. The winners were Dr. José David Sarrió López and Professor Gema Moreno Bueno.
“Research is about investing in our future.”
“Research is a fundamental driver to improve what we do in terms of cancer,” oncologist Javier Cortés, promoter of the Contigo Foundation, explains to La Vanguardia. Cortés is one of the most prestigious experts in the world and the world’s leading expert in HER2+ breast cancer as well as the fourth largest breast cancer expert in the world, according to the international Expertscape ranking.
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The foundation’s project was born from the concern of Cortés’ patients who saw the importance and need to research typical women’s cancers, which are basically breast and gynecological cancers. Their objective is to promote research and they currently have around twenty research projects underway led by a first-class scientific team. The charity dinners serve to contribute donations to research and meetings have been held in Barcelona, Madrid, Port d’Aro, Castellón, Vilanova del Vallés and soon in Marbella and Andorra.
“There is a lot of breast cancer, more than 2,300,000 women with breast cancer in the world and more than 650,000 die. So there is progress, but also a great need,” claims the oncologist. Because although advances and research give reasons to be optimistic, Cortés remembers that in Spain 6,500 women die from breast cancer each year.
Atmosphere in Llotja de Mar, last night
But the money for research is always “insufficient” in general and “deficient” if we talk about public investment, laments Cortés. Because, he explains, any clinical study does not cost hundreds of thousands of euros. That is why the oncologist asks for an effort from the authorities to investigate diseases in general because “we are all going to have them.” It is about “investing in our own future,” he points out. For the oncologist, it is an obligation that advances reach everyone and that they are bigger and better in order to “chronize” the disease.
