Established in 2010, this year´s International Prize for Breast Cancer Research has been awarded to Aleix Prat at the 8th Advanced International Breast Cancer Course, 15 – 17 November, Padua Italy, by Pier Franco Conte and Gabriel N. Hortobagyi in recognition of his work using gene expression profiling to better classify tumors and thus achieve a better understanding of the disease.
Given the multi-faceted and complex nature of cancer, optimal treatment for patients can only be achieved through the detailed study of the characteristics of each individual patient´s tumor, tailoring clinical solutions and strategies in response to such specificities. While we are undoubtedly on the eve of changing a treatment paradigm by delivering on the promise of personalized medicine, new technologies and approaches such as multi-gene testing for individual cancer evaluation, are not yet widely used in clinical practice.
Aleix Prat´s research will play an important role in reversing this reality. Awarded to young researchers who have published a manuscript reporting important clinical or biological advances in breast cancer in an international peer-reviewed journal, the third International Prize for Breast Cancer Research not only recognizes his contribution to personalized treatment in breast cancer by bringing his findings closer to the clinic, but also work aimed at improving current pathology-based definitions to better define the biological profile of tumors.
Joining previous prize winners Fabrice Andre (Institut Gustave Roussy, France) and Ana Maria Gonzalez-Angulo (MD Anderson Cancer Center, USA), Aleix Prat serves as Head of VHIO´s Translational Genomics Group where his research aims to guide clinical trial design and biomarker development and identify improved treatment regimens for cancer patients, and as Medical Oncologist at the Vall d´Hebron University Hospital´s Breast Cancer Unit .
For more information about his group and research at VHIO click here, or contact Amanda Wren, VHIO´s Communication Manager directly: awren@vhio.net.
