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Cancer Prevention and Genetics

Highlight

- Our current research lines are focusing mostly on chemoprevention, pharmacogenomics and the effects of lifestyle changes in various cohorts of subjects at higher risk of developing cancer in order to validate the most effective strategies to reach a tailored prevention.

- In order to develop new strategies of cancer prevention the Division’s multidisciplinary staff (including oncologists, geneticist, biologists, research nurses, counselor, data managers) is committed to conduct clinical trials with the main aim to validate various drugs, micronutrients, natural compounds as preventive agents.

 

Our Activities

The Division of Cancer Prevention and Genetics is essentially dedicated to clinical research on the prevention of solid tumors and clinical management (risk assessment, surveillance and preventive treatment) of subjects at higher-than-average risk for various types of cancer.

Most of the research efforts are currently focused on chemoprevention trials on breast, ovarian, colorectal, oral and lung cancer.

The target population is heterogeneous but includes mainly two groups of risk:

  1. patients with (previously resected) precancerous conditions (such as breast ductal intraepithelial neoplasia, or colon adenoma or oral eukoplakia);
  2. healthy individuals who carry one or more risk factors (such as family history, germline mutations, high levels of androgens or estradiol or IGF-I, use of HRT, metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, athypical hyperplasia, high mammographic density, peripheral lung “ground glass opacities” etc).

These at-risk subjects are screened, followed and, when possible, enrolled in chemoprevention trials.

We have an established experience on various types of trials, including:

  1. phase II studies on surrogate endpoint biomarkers;
  2. larger phase III, multi-institutional trials on clinical endpoints (cancer incidence);
  3. pre-surgery WOP (“window-of-opportunity”) studies in patients candidate to surgical treatment for primary breast cancer in order to test the efficacy of new and “old” drugs on breast cancer cell proliferation (measured by Ki-67 on baseline biopsy and then on the specimen after 3-4 weeks of drug treatment), and other tissue and circulating biomarkers.
  • Our staff
     

    Cancer Prevention and Genetics

    Director

    Bernardo Bonanni

    Staff Cancer Prevention and Genetics

  • IEO HIGH RISK CLINIC

    WHY A HRC IS NEEDED?

    Cancer is a multifactorial disease and several risk factors are already known: familiar/genetic predisposition (germline mutations), endocrine disorders (abnormal levels of sexual hormones and growth factors), metabolic inbalance (diabetes, metabolic syndrome), lifestyle (bad diet, no physical exercise, heavy smoking), environmental factors, etc.

     

    Knowing soon enough that an individual may be at high risk for cancer allows to implement a number of actions (surveillance and active prevention) able to reduce cancer risk during lifetime. The earlier the risk profile is elucidated and the prevention measures are started, the higher the probability to really prevent cancer in the subject and in the family.  

     

    The detailed knowledge of all risk factors are essential to draw an individual’s risk profile and to conduct the best individualized prevention through:

     

    • risk-monitoring programs (personalized surveillance)
    • risk-reducing measures:

                         1) lifestyle modifications

                        2) chemoprevention with natural compounds or drugs

                        3) prophylactic surgery.

     

    All this is the key of Personalized Prevention (PP).

     

     

     WHAT WE CAN PROVIDE?

    • Evaluation of the  personal and family risk  by clinical methods and special softwares (eg. BRCAPRO/CaGene);
    • The oncogenetic counseling and genetic test for germline mutations;
    • The Personalized risk management: regular clinical visits, personal  prevention programs, instrumental surveillance, participation in clinical trials of chemoprevention and other medical treatments, discuss prophylactic surgery, access to psychological support.

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PARTNERSHIP

Università degli Studi di Milano

MAIN CREDITS

Ministero della Salute Joint Commission International bollinirosa

© 2013 Istituto Europeo di Oncologia - via Ripamonti 435 Milano - P.I. 08691440153 - Codice intermediario fatturazione elettronica: A4707H7

IRCCS - ISTITUTO DI RICOVERO E CURA A CARATTERE SCIENTIFICO