FM Translational Research and the International Breast Cancer Research Committee (IBCRC)
Fondazione Michelangelo is a non-profit, scientific organization aiming at the progress in cancer research and treatment development.
The main purpose of the Fondazione Michelangelo is to encourage national and international cooperation in conducting clinical and translational studies in which medical therapy plays a central role.
It is more and more important to combine clinical studies with biological investigations in order to better characterize the fields in which new therapies can be applied, and to interpret the results obtained to plan new and innovative therapeutic strategies.
Fondazione Michelangelo coordinates the constitution of tissue banks and other biological materials to conduct ancillary histological and molecular investigations that can contribute to a deeper understanding of tumour behaviour and have immediate application in the therapeutic setting.
Fondazione Michelangelo is sponsor of clinical studies at international level, which are submitted for approval to the Regulatory Authorities of the participating Countries and to the Ethics Committees of the participating Sites.
In July 2020, the Board of Directors of Fondazione Michelangelo decided the establishment of the International Breast Cancer Research Committee (IBCRC) to coordinate all research activities related to breast cancer and to help maintaining the excellence in field of clinical and biological science. The main objective of the committee is to discuss and evaluate clinical and translational studies and advise on potential or concrete issues with ongoing studies.
– Luca Gianni, Chair International Breast Cancer Research Committee (IBCRC)
The assessment, through clinical and molecular analyses, of the presence of prognostic and/or predictive markers suggesting benefit or resistance to therapeutic regimens, aimed at improving the knowledge of the oncological pathology under study, is one of the secondary objectives of each research project.
The requirement and reason for collecting biological samples (tissue and blood) for these analyses is stated in the Informed Consents that subjects must sign for each study. Patients are made aware that blood and tissue samples collected during the clinical study will be stored in the Tumor Bank selected by Fondazione Michelangelo, which will carry out the studies on samples. The access to samples by Investigators will remain under the strict responsibility of Fondazione Michelangelo.
Researchers who are interested in conducting analyses on clinical trial data should send an email to translational@fondazionemichelangelo.org. Fondazione Michelangelo will send a Research Proposal application form (RP) and a document explaining the terms and conditions of use of the Michelangelo Web platform.
The documents, duly completed, should be returned by e-mail to translational@fondazionemichelangelo.org.
Proposals will be evaluated by the IBCRC’s Clinical and Translational Research Subcommittee. The Committee’s opinion will be forwarded to the applicants.
