Head of the Medical Oncology Service of the University Hospital Complex of Santiago (Chus), Rafael López (Villamartín de Valdeorras, 1959) knows cancer and its vericuetos as few. Liquid biopsy father -Spy and ally when knowing the status of each tumor through blood- it is optimistic about the immediate future of a disease that, assumes, will be less lethal every day.
-We starts to put cancer figures. Last year about 300,000 new cases were diagnosed in Spain. Those affected grow, healing rates as well.
-In Spain we have a problem. We are working with estimates, mainly of local records, so the data is approximate. It is necessary to have a national cancer registry and this is a demand for all health professionals. That said, every year the incidence of cancer increases a bit. We are about 300,000 cases and survival is already exceeding 60 percent at age five.
-Reference Oncologists estimate that in the next fifteen years, 70 percent of tumors could be curable. Do you also handle that statistic?
-Yes, and I am even a bit more optimistic, I think we will be between 70 and 80 percent. The initiatives that are taking place in the western world and speaking specifically from Europe are making many efforts to try to control the disease.
-There are many trials that are in incipient phases, others that have already reached the clinic. All point to personalized oncology. Is each tumor a world?
– Definitely. And in addition to personalized, it has to be evolutionary because just like people change, tumors change and the same tumor, within a year, can be different. It is one of the difficulties that fortunately we begin to understand.
-He gets news about new drugs, essays, treatments … Is there any special confidence?
-I think immunotherapy will give very good results. Then we have what we call the ‘new conjugates’ in which I also have many hopes because it is a modern and intelligent way to give chemotherapy. We are going to send it where it is already necessary for a high enough dose for the tumor, but not for the rest of the body, so we avoid a lot of toxicity. There are some of these treatments in the market, but in the coming years many more will come out.
-We speak of prevention. Breast and colon cancer screening are a reality. When of cancers like lung?
-The last year there was a European document about how to do the development of lung screening. It clearly recommended to fulfill the three established screenings that are that of Cérvix, the colon and rectum and the breast, and then do pilot studies for lung cancer, prostate and gastric cancer, to see if it was feasible to perform them in the population general. Regardless of this, more research is needed in the screening to try to extend it to other tumors such as pancreas or liver cancer.
-The research is crucial. However, in the case of Spain, only 1.3% of GDP is dedicated to research when in countries around us it exceeds 3. Do we have our Achilles heel?
-He has reason. We would have to devote much more financing to investigate. But there is a detail, and I don’t want to defend the government. Obviously, the public percentage of GDP dedicated to research must be increased. Definitely. But the biggest ‘gap’ Spain has is that there is no private money to investigate. And there is no money because there are no companies that want to investigate, and because there is no proper law of patronage that allows philanthropy, which is a source of financing in the western world in which we are.
-As where you are right now the new Protonterapia Center of Galicia is getting up. How would you explain to a citizen what protonopia supposes in cancer treatment?
-It is the modern and future way to administer radiotherapy. The Amancio Ortega Foundation is going to put Spain in the First Division of Radiation Oncology with the ten machines it has donated. This will be a giant step in radiotherapy, which is one of the most important tools of the three we have to control cancer. The change will be radical.
-They of life and genetic. How far can we handle our health?-Genetics weighs very little, between 5 and 10% of cases. Life habits around 30-35%. It is a nonsense who still looks at people smoking. I believe that in the coming years the effort will be to prohibit smoking in the street.
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