Notícias de: Teaching and Research Center (NEP)

National Science Day and Researcher Day are celebrated on July 8th. The date was created to highlight the importance of science for the country’s development, stimulate the interest of young people and disseminate scientific knowledge to society. Instituto Mário Penna has a Teaching and Research Nucleus (NEP) composed of a team of researchers dedicated exclusively to the development of scientific projects and clinical research applied to oncology.

The NEP was founded in 2015 with the purpose of acting in the investigation and production of scientific data. “Over the years, we have been generating knowledge and advances in the field of oncology, based on basic, translational and clinical research”; explains Dr. Paulo Guilherme, pathologist and Director of the Teaching and Research Center.

In Basic and Translational Research, the projects under development aim to identify cancer markers capable of offering a better quality of life to cancer patients, as well as supporting medical decisions. The research results should allow for an increasingly personalized medicine for the treatment of cancer patients. Currently, two projects approved by the National Oncology Care Program (Pronon) and dedicated to the research of biomarkers in female cancers (cervical, breast and ovarian cancer) and to the implementation of the first tumor bank in the State of Minas Gerais are underway. In addition, five doctoral and seven master’s projects are being developed, supervised by NEP researchers, in partnership with UFMG, UFU, Funed and Fio Cruz.

In Clinical Research, IMP researchers are currently working on three open studies for patient/volunteer recruitment: the Thor study for the treatment of bladder cancer and the Rigel and Kiniksa studies for the treatment of inpatients due to complications of cancer. Covid.

“In the coming months, we expect to open four more studies focusing on Covid’s treatment and another four to offer treatment for lung, cervical and bladder cancer”; emphasizes Dr. Paulo Guilherme.

Genetic mutations can lead to the development of cancer and research shows that 66% of those that cause tumors are random, only 29% are linked to environment or lifestyle and only 5% are linked to heredity. But, do you know what mutations are?

All living beings have genetic material that is responsible for generating the organism and keeping it functioning. This genetic material works like a code that needs to be read and interpreted whenever a biological activity is needed in this organism. Each species has a genetic code that is its own and that is the same among all individuals of that species. However, each individual has small differences that distinguish them from each other. It happens to all of us too. We have the same genetic code, but each has small differences that make us different even when compared to our brothers.

When our cells are going to multiply, whether to repair damaged tissue or to replace other cells, this genetic code needs to duplicate itself. This is important so that each new cell has the same genetic information as the one that originated it. During this duplication step, small errors can happen in the genetic code and they are called mutations.

Most mutations that occur are corrected or the cell is destroyed. However, some cells with mutations can remain in the body. Some of these mutations can bring advantages to living beings and this type of mutation is one of those responsible for the evolution of living beings, that is, they are legal. But some can be quite problematic and can cause serious problems, like those that trigger cancer.

Identifying these mutations is essential to understand the characteristics of the disease and propose increasingly individualized treatment methodologies, thus helping patients to have a more efficient response to available treatments and, consequently, to have a greater chance of cure. In addition, knowledge of mutations in tumors can also identify new types of treatment.

“Working at the frontier of knowledge and research on cancer and with the purpose of expanding this scientific knowledge, proposing solutions for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer patients, researchers from the Translational Research Laboratory of the Teaching and Research Center (NEP), are developing studies to assess the burden of mutations present in patients with breast and ovarian cancer; says Dr. Fábio Queiroz, one of the Laboratory’s researchers. The methodology applied in these surveys was developed by Qiagen™, an internationally renowned company in the production of biotechnology inputs.

*Text written by Dr. Fábio Ribeiro Queiroz

World Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Day is celebrated on July 27th. One of the main problems for the treatment of this type of cancer is the late diagnosis, which occurs in 60% of cases, leaving sequelae in the patient.
We all want to avoid cancer, but this is not always easy. On the other hand, in head and neck cancer we can prevent the disease simply by avoiding exposure to factors that are related to the onset of the disease. There are well-known risk factors that can be easily avoided. The first factor: overexposure to sunlight. The second factor: cigarettes and alcohol and the situation is worse when the person has the habit of consuming large amounts of alcohol and smokes a lot. The third factor: HPV virus, the same one that is related to the appearance of cervical cancer in women.

In addition to prevention, early diagnosis and rapid initiation of treatment are essential for the cure of head and neck cancer, reducing the impact on patients’ quality of life. The Teaching and Research Center (NEP), through a partnership between the Translational Research Laboratory and the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), develops the research project “Association between clinical and immunopathological aspects of orofacial pain and quality of life in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the oral mucosa”. The research is carried out by the master’s student Francine Barros de Oliveira, from the Postgraduate Program in Pathology at UFMG, under the guidance of Profa. Dr. Camila Megale Almeida-Leite (Dept of Morphology/Institute of Biological Sciences/UFMG) and co-supervision of Dr. Patricia Rocha Martins.

Dr. Paulo Guilherme de Oliveira Salles, Dr. Paulo Guilherme de Oliveira Salles, also participate in the research as members of the Mário Penna Institute (IMP) team. Juliana Maria Braga Sclauser and Dr. Letícia Braga, in addition to the medical team at the head and neck clinic. The project aims to evaluate in oral cancer patients seeking treatment at IMP, potential relationships between cancer characteristics, orofacial pain presented by the patient and quality of life.

According to Dr. Camila Megale, this research is the starting point for more detailed studies on the type of orofacial pain that patients with head and neck cancer have and how the type of cancer can interfere with pain as a symptom. “In the future, the results obtained will allow for an early treatment of the patient’s pain in a more specific way, based on information obtained from the biopsy and the initial consultations, which will make orofacial pain relief more effective.”

This question is usually asked by the clinical research team to patients at Instituto Mário Penna who can join clinical trials. But before hearing the answer, some explanations are essential.

A research volunteer, also known as a research participant, is a person who agrees to use a new drug that is in the testing phase and that may be beneficial for the treatment of cancer. The identification of potential volunteers is carried out by the team of oncologists who indicate those who can participate in the studies. For this invitation it is necessary to check three fundamental points:

1 – Does the test treatment provide more benefit than the standard treatment? In some situations, clinical studies offer medications that are not available in the SUS or in the health insurance, and that already show promising results compared to therapies used in routine, and that can increase lifespan or cause fewer side effects. In other situations, the patient has already gone through a long path of treatments and the therapy options have already been exhausted, leaving the oncologist to repeat a treatment that has already been done before. With clinical research it is possible to enable a new line of treatment.

2 – What happens when I participate in the clinical trial? The clinical study does not start before the patient is informed about the risks, benefits, follow-up tests, medications used, side effects, treatment time, consultations and all other information necessary to guarantee their right to make a decision. After clarification, a document called the Informed Consent Term (FICF) is signed by the patient and the physician responsible for the guidelines given. The term contains all the information discussed and the contacts of those responsible for the clinical protocol.

3 – Does the patient meet the study’s safety criteria? Before the clinical study arrives at Instituto Mário Penna, other analyzes are carried out regarding the drug, making it possible to know the main side effects it can cause, thus excluding patients who may have any risk factors for taking the medication. Several tests are performed between signing the consent form and before administering the first dose of medication, with the aim of getting to know the patient.

Cíntia Lima, Clinical Research Coordinator Nurse, emphasizes that a patient who is well informed about the possibilities of treatment in oncology will certainly have no difficulty in answering the question in the title of this text. She also reinforces that the mission of the clinical research team is to offer the best treatment to patients and ensure that their wishes are respected.

*Text written by Cíntia Lima, Enf. Clinical Research Coordinator

The Mário Penna Institute received authorization from the National Research Ethics Committee (CONEP) to implement the first Tumor Biobank in the State of Minas Gerais. It is the only one in a philanthropic hospital in the state that serves more than 80% of its patients through the SUS and will be operational from next year.

Dr. Letícia Braga, Coordinator of the Translational Research Laboratory of the Teaching and Research Nucleus (NEP), will be responsible for the activities at IMP. She explains that Biobanks consist of a sophisticated and well-organized system of programmed storage of biological material (blood, CSF, tumor and normal tissues) and corresponding data, which are accessible for scientific investigation and for the treatment of cancer.

“For implementation, we received financial support through the National Oncology Program (PRONON). Initially, Biobanco will provide samples of tumor and non-tumor tissue from the breast and ovary, including biomolecules such as DNA, RNA and protein. We will have the capacity to store patients’ biological materials through cryopreservation (-80ºC and -180ºC), in addition to our own system for storing the entire clinical and epidemiological history of patients, which will be integrated into the National Biobanks System”; account Dr. Leticia.

And what makes Instituto Mário Penna different from having a Biobank?

At Biobanco, samples are stored with quality allowing cellular, molecular or systemic studies, using different types of technologies, such as Liquid Biopsy, sequencing and Flow Cytometry, as well as having access to clinical data of patients with the response to treatment, recurrence , prognosis, among others.

“The biological samples stored at Biobanco will be available to researchers from the institution itself or to any other (national or international) that wants to establish partnerships/collaborations for research and development. With this, the Mário Penna Institute, in addition to being recognized for the excellent care of cancer patients, becomes one of the main actors in the generation of knowledge and products in oncology in the context of the SUS”; emphasizes Dr. Leticia.