The Projeto Cura Institute has launched a campaign for donations: “Together we can be stronger than Cancer”

Brazilian researchers are asking for funding for a study that is close to identifying the best course of preoperative treatment for breast cancer and which will have benefits for women around the world.

The Projeto Cura Institute has launched a campaign for donations from the public: “Together we can be stronger than Cancer”, which is aiming to raise enough funds to enable data to be processed for one year as part of a completely Brazilian-based piece of research into the sequences for the treatment of HER2-negative type breast cancer.

The NeoSamba study is a randomized clinical trial, which is now in phase 3. It is examining a new sequence of treatment including neoadjuvant chemotherapy (before breast surgery) and intends to monitor the treatment of almost 500 women over three years.

During ASCO, the conference of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, in 2018, Dr. José Bines, the principal investigator for the study, talked about the conclusion of Phase II of NeoSamba. The research was conducted by the National Cancer Institute (INCA) and it investigated the cases of 118 patients to assess whether changing the order of the drugs in the anthracyclines and taxane classes (some of the most commonly-used drugs for chemotherapy) would make a difference to the women’s survival. It was suggested that treating them first with taxane and then with anthracyclines, rather than the other way around, as had been previous approach, could significantly improve relapse-free survival rates and, in particular, overall survival. The results of the study were published in 2020 in the medical journal, The Oncologist.

The study paved the way for Phase 3, in which the number of people to be studied was increased and they were to be monitored for longer. However, there was not enough funding to begin what the oncologist Dr. José Bines defines as a “confirmatory research study”. Specialists in the area are relying on clinical research to potentially provide new therapies, improvements in quality of life and improved cure rates for patients.

One remarkable aspect of this research, if the results are confirmed in Phase 3, is the fact that it can be used immediately, as it involves medication that is already available within the Brazilian public system, without any additional increase in costs. The anticipated result would also have an immediate impact around the world and is specifically relevant to young women and women diagnosed with breast cancer in developing countries. This means that more women could be potentially cured of breast cancer as a result of this development.

“This research is one that is being entirely done in Brazil in reputable institutions treating SUS (National Healthcare) patients. It is not linked to the pharmaceutical industry in any way. The researchers themselves have been responsible for designing and carrying out all of the stages of the study, and now the Projeto Cura Institute has helped us to raise the funds to complete Phase III”, explains Dr. José Bines.

Phase 3 of the NeoSamba research project will take place in six Brazilian states and involve nine Research Centers, and in each center there is a multidisciplinary team managed by the principal investigator, who is the person responsible for the study.

INCA – Rio de Janeiro/RJ;

Hospital do Amor – Barretos/SP;

UNICAMP – Campinas /SP;

HINJA – Volta Redonda/RJ;

Hospital de Clínicas – Porto Alegre/RS;

CEPON – Florianópolis/SC;

São Camilo Research Center – São Paulo/SP;

Araújo Jorge Hospital – Goiânia/GO;

The NeoSamba Phase 3 campaign is a crowdfunding initiative from the Projeto Cura Institute, in partnership with LACOG (the Latin American Cooperative Oncology Group), GBECAM (the Brazilian Group for Breast Cancer Studies), which will be relying on oncology and breast cancer physicians to promote this worthy cause and identify prospective donors. The actress, Patricia Pillar, has joined the team to act as an ambassador for the campaign, and will be working voluntarily as a spokesperson to promote the cause.

The Projeto Cura Institute is a non-profit organization, based in Brazil and unique in Latin America. One of its objectives is to fund research into the fight against cancer.

For more details or to help the campaign, just visit the website www.projetocura.org.

Direct link for donations: https://benfeitoria.com/estudoneosamba?ref=Cura

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