The donation is the result of the 15th edition of their solidarity event held in Los Corrales de Buelna, which brought together thousands of people in support of biomedical research in Cantabria.
The Marqués de Valdecilla Research Institute (IDIVAL) received a €20,000 donation from the ‘Luchamos por la Vida’ Association, aimed at supporting a research project on aggressive breast cancer led by the Melatonin and Breast Cancer Research Group, headed by Virginia Álvarez and Carlos Sainz.
The donation ceremony took place at IDIVAL’s headquarters, with the participation of Galo Peralta, IDIVAL’s Managing Director; Ricardo Martínez, President of the ‘Luchamos por la Vida’ Association; Virginia Álvarez, lead researcher of the project; and José Pedro Vaqué, researcher in the Melatonin and Breast Cancer Group at IDIVAL.
This donation is the result of the 15th edition of the ‘Luchamos por la Vida’ event, held on April 27th in Los Corrales de Buelna. Although the attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the largest human pink ribbon fell short by a narrow margin, the event achieved historic community mobilization and raised funds that are entirely allocated to this research project.
The study focuses on particularly aggressive breast tumors, such as triple-negative and HER2+ types, seeking to understand how these cancer cells develop resistance to treatments like chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Specifically, the IDIVAL team is investigating the role of a key protein, PKCϴ, in the DNA repair mechanisms that allow tumor cells to survive therapy-induced damage. Progress in this line of research could open new therapeutic avenues and improve the prognosis for patients affected by these types of cancer.
At IDIVAL, we would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the ‘Luchamos por la Vida’ Association, to all participants, and to everyone who made this collective act of solidarity possible. Collaborations like this reinforce Cantabrian society’s shared commitment to health research and to advancing new treatments that improve people’s lives.
Cover photo: From left to right: José Pedro Vaqué, Ricardo Martínez, Virginia Álvarez, and Galo Peralta.
Inside photo: From left to right: Ricardo Martínez and Galo Peralta.
