Today the Organisation of European Cancer Institutes (OECI), founded in 1979 by Umberto Veronesi, will bestow Professor Alberto  Mantovani with the 2016 Oncology Award in the presence of Princess Astrid of Belgium.

Prof. Mantovani has shown that the microenvironment surrounding the cancer cell provides an essential ecological niche for cancer development and progression.

In particular, he has shown that a component of the normal immune system (our body guards), the macrophages, when they get into tumours, become corrupted.

These corrupted body guards, called tumour associated macrophages, help cancer in many ways, such as the production of growth factors, opening ways for blood provision by stimulating the angiogenesis - the growth of new vessels - and inhibiting the activity of anti-tumour lymphocytes.

Therefore in cancer, our body guards - the cells of the immune system -, are either corrupted or become dormant.

The studies, spearheaded by the OECI awardee Alberto Mantovani, are now recognised as part of the new paradigm of the essence of cancer, which includes tumour promoting inflammation and evasion from effective  anti-tumour immunity.

These studies and paradigm shifts have set the foundations of the current revolutionary developments of immunotherapy, opening new, promising ways of cancer cure.

Immunotherapy strategies are now aimed at awakening immunity and stopping corrupted immune cells. The contribution of Professor Mantovani’s work, this year’s winner of the OECI Cancer Prize, is of major importance in this domain. Today, immunotherapy represents the new frontline in the fight against cancer. 

"This award is not only to me" said Mantovani, "it goes to my institute, to my research group, including the technicians, who are often overlooked, but are the most important “resource for know-how”. 

Also I must thank all the funding bodies who have allowed me to carry out my research, in particular the Italian Association for Research on Cancer (AIRC) "

Alberto Mantovani, scientific director of the Humanitas Research Hospital and Cancer Center in Milan and professor of the Humanitas medical school, is one of the most cited researchers in the world.

He has over a thousand research papers, published in the most renowned international medical journals and has already won many other awards.

Source: OECI