The Spanish Association against Cancer (AECC) has awarded aid 1 million two hundred thousand euros to identify new therapeutic targets and prognostic markers in lung tumors poorly characterized. The project has duration of five years.

Lung cancer is one of the tumors having higher mortality rates worldwide. Only in Spain each year about 20,000 people die for this cause. The high mortality rate is because when the disease is diagnosed already in an advanced stage. Late detection and lack of effective therapies make the probability of survival of patients with lung cancer is very low. Overall, only 10% and 15% of patients survive 5 years after detection. The origin of more than 80% of cases is the consumption of snuff.

The grant of aecc is awarded the multicenter research group on lung cancer formed by the team of Luis Montuenga, Center for Applied Medical Research of Navarra, the research group on genes and cancer of the IDIBELL, led by Montse Sanchez-Cespedes and researchers of the Lung Cancer program at Vall d’Hebron Hospital headed by Enriqueta Felip.

This week the board of the scientific foundation of the aecc had presented the aids of more than 4 million in new research projects.