Projects funded through public generosity
Thanks to you, certain projects get off the ground more quickly, as your donations enable us to move faster on new discoveries. Below are some examples of projects that have been financed thanks to your generosity.
cellule HeLa1
Shiva
Shiva: a trial that changes the approach to cancer treatment
The Shiva trial is innovative on a number of levels. To start with, it is the first time in oncology that the choice of treatment has been entirely based on the molecular profile of the tumor, regardless of its location. Secondly, the trial is largely funded by public donations.
Understanding the principle of Shiva: https://prezi.com/axsnmzav7ag-/les-coulisses-de-shiva/
The basic idea is simple: if a targeted therapy is effective for lung cancer, why wouldn’t it be effective for bowel cancer, provided that the two tumors have the same molecular defect?
“The latest results are sufficiently encouraging to form the basis of a new trial, SHIVA 02, the aim of which will be to validate the precision-medicine approach in the subgroup of patients with a molecular alteration in the MAP kinase pathway on their tumor,” explains Dr Christophe Le Tourneau, the medical oncologist managing this trial.
Programme Activ’:
Preventing the risk of cancer recurrence
Launched in 2012, Programme Activ’ is a pioneering effort to reduce the risk of recurrence following breast cancer.
After a pilot phase based on physical activity, Institut Curie has added a nutrition segment to Programme Activ’.
“Offered to all women in follow-up after breast cancer, the aim of this program is to help them adopt healthy habits and regain confidence in their bodies,” explains Dr Sylvie Dolbeault.
Several studies show that physical exercise and balanced nutrition help reduce the recurrence rate by 50% in women who have been treated for breast cancer.
Institut Curie wants to roll out Programme Activ’ on a larger scale; it could ultimately be offered to patients suffering from other types of cancer.
Read more about Programme Activ
Programs PIC3i
- The PIC3i programs bring together several skill sets: researchers, doctors, bioinformatics specialists, physicists and others, all working on the same promising research project financed mainly through public generosity to accelerate progress on the relevant topic.
This is the case with the latest program launched at Institut Curie on the microbiota with immunologist Eliane Piaggio.
Increasingly in the spotlight, the bacteria in our intestines - the well-known microbiota - appear to influence the growth of a tumor as well as the response to treatment, in particular immunotherapy. This observation led to the launch of a PIC3i dedicated to studying the intestinal flora during cancer treatment, a project self-financed in large part through public generosity.
Cancer Immunotherapy Center:
A great hope for new treatments
Immunotherapy is a field that has gained ground in recent years with progress in research. These efforts must continue, so that as many patients as possible can benefit from it as quickly as possible.
Very promising results have already been achieved thanks to immunotherapy, which involves using our own immune system to fight cancer.
This year, Institut Curie created the first Cancer Immunotherapy Center. Public generosity is an essential component in the fulfillment of this project. This new center will make it possible to coordinate the efforts of clinicians and scientists with a view to improving treatments and defining new therapeutic strategies to bring innovations to the patient’s bedside.
This year, all of the funds from the Une Jonquille pour Curie initiative will go to this center
The results obtained in the current trials have exceeded our expectations, since it is now possible to treat patients with very advanced forms of cancer. This leads us to think that in patients with less advanced cancers, the treatments will be even more effective
Sebastian Amigorena, Director of the Cancer Immunotherapy Center at Institut Curie.
Read more about Cancer Immunotherapy Center
Cancer recedes as research progresses!