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Carmen Herrero Vicent, an oncologist at the Castellón Provincial Hospital Consortium, enters the Royal Valencian Academy of Medicine this Tuesday. Despite his youth (he is 35 years old), Herrero stands out for his innovative research in breast cancer. Graduated in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Valencia, she specialized in Medical Oncology at the Valencian Institute of Oncology Foundation. He received a doctorate in Medicine and Surgery with a Cum Laude qualification from the University of Valencia. In addition, he received the award for the best Doctoral Thesis 2018-2019 from the Colegio de Médicos de València. She has been awarded the Professor Antonio Llombart Rodríguez Award from the Real Academia de Medicina de la Comunitat 2019.
The recognition was announced in January 2020 and implied his admission to the high institution. However, the health crisis caused by the covid-19 pandemic prevented the celebration of the event, which has been postponed until this Tuesday.
“Award to the whole team”
A recognition that, however, she points out that the whole team deserves. «This type of project is not possible if the entire pathological anatomy, molecular biology, oncology service does not participate … For us it is very appreciated because it is the reward for a work that we have done in the plural, because it is a team project», Says this young doctor.
“Importance of empathy”
Born in Llucena and residing in Onda, Herrero has been an oncologist for the Provincial Hospital Consortium since 2017. Her specialty is breast cancer and gynecological tumors, an area of the healthcare profession that involves treating seriously ill patients, sometimes young.
Asked about this question, Herrero highlights “the importance of humane treatment. In this disease we can never know when you can be on the other side and what you are grateful for is a close treatment, empathetic. I think that is essential, “he says.
Therapeutic advances
«It is true that things are moving forward, there is a lot of research in the field of oncology and more specifically in breast cancer, which gives us how new therapeutic options. In practically a very short time we have results from new studies and the paradigm of breast cancer treatment has changed a lot since I finished my residency, always for the better.
As he explains, the Professor Llombart award recognizes translational research, which brings pathological anatomy to clinical practice. Herrero points out that “it is as a result of this award that they have given me the foot to this appointment as an academic.
Your investigation
His research project on the Importance of the Tumor Microenvironment in Triple Negative Breast Cancer – Evaluation of changes in lymphocyte response as a prognostic and predictive factor focuses on a subtype of breast cancer that is more likely to metastasize and affects young patients, where the therapeutic options are more limited than in others. Research is focused on better understanding tumor heterogeneity within this subtype, with the aim of identifying predictive and prognostic factors.
Given the boom in the fight against cancer by the immunogenic route, the evaluation of these markers could have important implications in the identification of molecular targets that are useful in immunotherapy against triple negative breast cancer, giving way to new and potential therapies.
Herrero is a sub-investigator in phase II, III, IV international clinical trials and is involved in different translational research projects.
Before joining the Hospital Provincial de Castellón, he completed his training with the Master of Molecular Biology at the National Center for Oncological Research in Madrid (2014-2015). She also performed an external Rotary in the Breast Cancer Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston USA (2016).
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