Flavio Maina, winner of the Prix Ruban Rose Avenir

1,850,000 euros to fund breast cancer research projects

Although research is constantly progressing, one woman in eight is still affected by breast cancer. Research therefore plays a crucial role in the detection, treatment, and support of patients. That's why, every year, the Prix Ruban Rose (Pink Ribbon Award) rewards research projects and associations whose aim is to improve patient care.

This year, 1,850,000 euros were donated to breast cancer research, divided into three categories: the Grand Prix Ruban Rose de la Recherche, four Prix Ruban Rose Avenir and five Prix Ruban Rose Qualité de Vie.

Ruban Rose Avenir Awards: deepening understanding of triple-negative breast cancer

The Ruban Rose Avenir awards recognize research projects aimed at furthering understanding of triple-negative breast cancer. Triple-negative breast cancer is one of the most difficult cancers to treat, affecting 15% of women with breast cancer in France. Understanding it better in order to treat it more effectively means identifying resistance mechanisms, finding new therapeutic targets and improving treatment prospects for patients suffering from this aggressive form of cancer.

It is in this context that Flavio Maina, CNRS Research Director at CRCM, has been rewarded for his work. As a specialist of the mechanisms behind tumor progression, he co-leads the "Targeting Signalling Networks and Microenvironment in Cancer" team.

It has recently been shown that triple-negative breast cancers are sensitive to a combination of chemotherapy and immunotherapy. Both therapies have an impact on the immune system, a key element in the development of triple-negative breast cancers. The aim of this project is therefore to decipher the way in which cancer cells and immune cells interact during treatment, in particular to explain the origin of the resistance sometimes observed. In the longer term, these results could lead to the optimization of existing therapeutic approaches, as well as the development of new ones.

Flavio Maina's research project is entitled “Understanding the interaction between the immune system and triple-negative breast cancer associated with cell death inducers to design new targeted therapies”. Visit the Marseille Cancer Research Center website to find out more about this project.