NanoNIR project against breast cancer

Carla Arnau del Valle, a researcher at the Interuniversity Research Institute for Molecular Recognition and Technological Development (IDM) of the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), has received a Marie Curie postdoctoral grant (MSCA-PF) to develop biosensors for the early detection of breast cancer, within the framework of the NanoNIR project.

The project has the collaboration of Dr Thomas Hirsch from the University of Regensburg in Germany and Dr Juan Miguel Cejalvo from the INCLIVA Health Research Institute at the Hospital Clínico de Valencia.

The main objective of this project is to develop innovative, effective and non-invasive tools for the early detection of breast cancer using nanotechnology and biomarkers. ‘This will significantly improve detection rates by providing more accurate diagnoses in the early stages of the disease, which is crucial to increase the chances of successful treatment and patient survival,’ says Carla Arnau del Valle.

The results of this research could optimise cancer screening programmes, develop non-invasive methods to monitor at-risk patients and detect relapses after treatment. ‘In addition, these technologies could be applied to other medical areas that require early detection through a non invasive system,’ adds Ramón Martínez Máñez, director of the IDM Institute and project coordinator.

According to the team from the IDM Institute UPV, the University of Regensburg in Germany and INCLIVA, the technology proposed by the project aims to contribute to improving the identification of tumours in early stages, increasing survival rates, as well as offering a more accurate diagnosis, reducing false positives and negatives. 'It would also have great potential to be implemented in health systems worldwide and contribute to a more efficient allocation of resources by identifying which patients require immediate treatment more accurately,’ adds Carla Arnau del Valle.

This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sk¿odowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship, with grant agreement No 101103902.