As part of the International Child Cancer Day, Patrice Cellario, Government Counselor – Minister of the Interior, and Didier Gamerdinger, Government Counselor – Minister of Social Affairs and Health, visited the group Pediatric Cancer Research Team within the “Resistance Mechanisms for Targeted Therapies” team of the Department of Medical Biology of the Scientific Center of Monaco (CSM).
Welcomed by Professor Patrick Rampal, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the CSM, and Professor Denis Allemand, Scientific Director, the two Council Ministers were able to familiarize themselves with the work done by Dr. Vincent Picco, Research Officer at the CSM, and Dr. Gilles Pagès, Director of Research INSERM, head of the team “Resistance Mechanisms for Targeted Therapies” and their collaborators.
This team, with the support of the Flavien Foundation, has taken up the dual challenge of trying to discover treatments that are both less toxic than current treatments, and nevertheless more effective, against the most common pediatric brain cancers — called medulloblastomas. The first results of this work have just been the subject of a scientific publication in the Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine.
Professor Patrick Rampal took advantage of this visit to recall that childhood cancers are fortunately rare, but sadly dramatic! They have more than all other cancers benefited from advances in medical research since in 20 years the survival rate at 5 years, has increased from 60% to more than 80%.
It is, therefore, necessary to continue the development of research in oncology because only a better knowledge of this pathology will further improve these results.
The day ended at 6 pm, with the Flavien Foundation walk from the Place du Palais, where Didier Gamerdinger and Patrice Cellario participated.