The Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer (AECC) is one of the non-profit organizations that allocates the most funds to oncological research in Spain, with more than 100 million euros invested in hundreds of projects throughout the State. Cancer is a disease that does not understand borders or personal situations and can affect anyone. That is why it is necessary to approach it from an equitable perspective, working to ensure that everyone has the same opportunities for diagnosis and treatment.

The AECC has made this idea its main mission and demonstrates it year after year by allocating a large amount of financial aid to cancer research. IDIBELL, with oncological research as one of its four main areas of research, usually receives funds and 2025 has been no different. Over the past year, the AECC allocated more than €900,000 to oncological research at IDIBELL, distributed as follows:

• €450,000 to Aptadel Therapeutics, a biomedical spin-off born from an IDIBELL project.
• €200,000 directly to IDIBELL as a research center accredited by the entity.
• The rest has been distributed in grants for internships and the research project led by Alba Jiménez, postdoctoral researcher in the Resistance and progression mechanisms in prostate cancer group at IDIBELL-ICO.

New strategies against childhood and prostate cancer

The two best-funded initiatives are related to two projects that open new avenues of hope in childhood cancer and prostate cancer.

On the one hand, the project led by Alba Jiménez, postdoctoral researcher in the group of Dr. Álvaro Aytés, focuses on combating prostate cancer resistant to current treatments. Prostate cancer is the second most common malignant disease in men and the fifth leading cause of cancer death in the world. Although some current treatments are effective in early stages, many patients develop an aggressive form in which they stop working. The project led by Alba Jiménez seeks a solution to this problem, betting on developing a drug that prevents the androgenic receptor, which is heavily involved in prostate cancer, from being activated, thus blocking tumor growth with a so far unexplored mechanism.

On the other hand, Aptadel Therapeutics focuses on the development of targeted and innovative therapy for the treatment of childhood cancer. Standard cancer therapies, such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, do not distinguish between tumor cells and healthy cells, causing important side effects that are especially serious in pediatric patients, who may suffer lifelong sequelae. To address this, Aptadel has developed an innovative technology capable of recognizing and attacking exclusively cancer cells with high precision aptamers, a kind of “chemical antibodies”. These aptamers not only minimize side effects by preventing damage to healthy tissues, but also reduce the metastatic potential in cases such as Ewing sarcoma (the type of cancer in which, in fact, Aptadel will validate its compounds).

About Bellvitge’s Comprehensive Cancer Center (CCC)

This research is part of the Bellvitge Health Campus’s work as a Comprehensive Cancer Center (CCC), the highest European recognition in the field of oncology, awarded by the Organization of European Cancer Institutes (OECI). It is the only CCC in Spain and Catalonia, involving four independent public institutions (Bellvitge Hospital, IDIBELL, ICO, and UB), that takes a coordinated, networked approach to cancer with a team of over 1,500 professionals who lead efforts from research and prevention to comprehensive care.

About IDIBELL

The Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) is a research center established in 2004 specialized in cancer, neuroscience, translational medicine, and regenerative medicine. It counts on a team of more than 1.500 professionals who, from 73 research groups, publish more than 1.400 scientific articles per year. IDIBELL is participated by the Bellvitge University Hospital and the Viladecans Hospital of the Catalan Institute of Health, the Catalan Institute of Oncology, the University of Barcelona, and the City Council of L’Hospitalet de Llobregat.

IDIBELL is a member of the Campus of International Excellence of the University of Barcelona HUBc and is part of the CERCA institution of the Generalitat de Catalunya. In 2009 it became one of the first five Spanish research centers accredited as a health research institute by the Carlos III Health Institute. In addition, it is part of the “HR Excellence in Research” program of the European Union and is a member of EATRIS and REGIC. Since 2018, IDIBELL has been an Accredited Center of the AECC Scientific Foundation (FCAECC).