On Sunday, November 19, 2023, several IIBM researchers, including Drs. Guillermo de Cárcer, Belén Peral, Cristina Rodríguez-Antona, María Isabel Sánchez and Bruno Sainz, their teams, family members and pets participated in the IX Carrera de las Ciudades Contra el Cáncer de Páncreas in Madrid, the only race in Spain that dedicates 100% of the funds raised to pancreatic cancer research.
With a survival rate of 10%, pancreatic cancer is a lethal disease for which there is no effective treatment. In addition, around 9,000 people are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in Spain each year. Research is key for the survival rate to improve and the Cities Race Against Pancreatic Cancer charity event helps researchers in this endeavor. Dr. Bruno Sainz and his team received funding to study the mechanisms by which pancreatic cancer stem cells evade the immune system.
The race is promoted by ACANPAN (Pancreatic Cancer Association), AESPANC (Spanish Association of Pancreatology) and AEG (Spanish Association of Gastroenterology). Its objective is two-fold: 1) to raise public awareness of the problem of this type of tumor, and 2) to use the funds raised in the race to finance basic and clinical research projects focused on pancreatic cancer, known as the Carmen Delgado/Miguel Pérez-Mateos Scholarship. Dr. Bruno Sainz and his team received this grant in 2017.