Marta Rayo, Project Manager of ADVANCELL and leading the project, explains: "Our objective is that this drug reaches the market as soon as possible in order to alleviate the suffering of these people and improve their quality of life. In many cases, these patients are forced to stop their cancer treatment because of the syndrome. We estimate that this treatment will be available in four or five years".

When a patient is treated with chemotherapy, their entire body is affected, not only the areas where the cancer is located. Hand-foot syndrome arises when some types of chemotherapy get into the cells rich in keratin (keratinocytes) of the skin, affecting reproduction of the cells. The areas of the body with more keratinocytes, such as the palms and soles, are more badly affected.

According to the WHO, breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer in women and each year affects more than 1.3 million people around the world, approximately 22,000 of them in Spain. Colorectal cancer is the second one more prevalent cancer in women, and the third in men, affecting more than 1.2 million people around the world, around 28,600 of them in Spain.

The recruitment for the clinical phase IIb trials has already started and the study will enroll 100 oncologic patients at 21 European hospitals in Belgium, Germany and Spain. The principal investigator leading the project at international level is Dr. A. Awada from the Jules Bordet Institute (Brussels) (bordet.be/en/index.htm) .

SOURCE Advancell