The new UB-CETIR-QUAES Chair on Diagnosis and Metabolic Therapy was presented today in the Aula Magna of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences of the University of Barcelona. The main objective of the Chair is to promote metabolic therapy, an innovative treatment in the fight against cancer, and to improve its implementation in the health system.
As explained by the chair’s director, Salvador Pedraza, head of service at the Diagnostic Imaging Centre of the Hospital Clínic in Barcelona and professor at the UB’s Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, training, research, dissemination and awareness-raising activities will be organized to promote targeted therapy: The aim, starting in the second year of the chair, is to implement an educational programme dedicated to promoting the development of metabolic diagnosis and therapy in oncological diseases. Among other activities, scholarships and prizes for research projects and scientific publications will also be awarded.  

On the other hand, the rector of the UB, Joan Guàrdia, has positively valued the collaboration that now begins between the University, Cetir Ascires and the QUAES Foundation: The chairs are a form of public-private collaboration that allow us to achieve shared objectives in a more agile and effective way. The University’s experience is put at the service of a laudable goal, which is to advance in the implementation of metabolic therapy against cancer, contributing to improving people’s lives. 

The head of Nuclear Medicine, Eduard Riera, spoke on behalf of Cetir Ascires: The technological sophistication of nuclear medicine, especially with the introduction of positron emission tomography (PET) equipment, has generated very ambitious diagnostic and therapeutic expectations. Riera added: The radiopharmaceutical evolution, linked to this technology, is now moving towards molecular research of different substances that can be labelled with radionuclides, which makes their therapy more efficient and precise. This is the origin of targeted therapy, an ambitious and real opportunity for the use of radiopharmaceuticals in the precision treatment of cancer. 

The metabolic therapy has emerged as a revolution and, in recent years, has become one of the most advanced and promising approaches to combat some types of cancer, such as prostate or thyroid cancer.
Theranostics, precision targeted cancer medicine 

All oncological treatment is focused on increasing the rate of effectiveness, maximizing precision and minimizing side effects for the patient. In this context, metabolic therapy has emerged as a revolution and, in recent years, has become one of the most advanced and promising approaches to combat some types of cancer, such as prostate or thyroid cancer, bone metastases and various neuroendocrine tumours, in addition to ongoing research into tumours such as lung, breast, pancreatic and kidney cancer. 

This is customized precision medicine, as it is tailored to the molecular characteristics of each patient and type of cancer. This makes it possible to design individualized treatments that act in a selective and therefore much less aggressive way: targeted radiation that attacks the tumour directly, with a minimum of damage to surrounding healthy cells. Therefore, in addition to greater therapeutic effectiveness and a higher survival rate, it reduces adverse effects such as general discomfort, pain or physical weakness, and provides better tolerance (less toxicity) and quality of life. 

The treatment consists of administering to the patient a radiopharmaceutical, which emits alpha or beta particles that specifically bind to the cancer cells, both those of the tumour and those of possible metastases, and irradiates them to any part of the body where they are located. This ability to reach all locations of the tumour, even when it has spread through the bloodstream, is especially beneficial in patients with advanced or metastatic cancer, where other therapies may be less effective. 

There are currently some obstacles blocking the implementation of theranostics in Catalonia and Spain, such as the need for greater training of nuclear medicine professionals, improved coordination of the entire care process, the progressive creation of a nuclear oncology profile and improved information for patients. The UB-CETIR-QUAES Chair on Diagnosis and Metabolic Therapy aims to mark a turning point in the promotion of theranostics.

Source: https://web.ub.edu/en/web/actualitat/w/catedra-ub-cetir-quaes?tn=np&referer=press-releases