September 18th, 2015 – A researcher from the University of Florence has joined the “Halifax Project” (named after the Canadian city where it was launched), a scientific initiative promoted by a non-governmental, non-profit organization that wants to promote integrated and multidisciplinary research on tumors. The goal is to improve treatments against these diseases. Amedeo Amedei, from the Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine of the University of Tuscany, will collaborate in the initiative set up in Canada by the international NGO “Getting to Know Cancer,” which brings together scientists from all over the world. Alongside his colleagues, Amedei will explore the genesis and treatment of the complex disease that is cancer, with a special attention to the environmental factors that contribute to its emergence. The first results – as stated on the website of the University of Florence – were published in a special issue of Carcinogenesis (“Assessing the Carcinogenic Potential of Low-Dose Exposures to Chemical Mixtures in the Environment: The Challenge Ahead”) and will soon be published on Seminar in Cancer Biology. “Today the scientific approach against cancer – explains Amedei – has exceeded the logic of the single target as the cause of the disease. We instead look at many aspects that characterize tumor formation, such as genetic instability, inflammation, invasion of surrounding tissue, evasion of the immune system, and metastasis. Our survey – continues Amedei – brings out the need for a new research perspective on cancer studies. And Project Halifax goes beyond the analysis of the effects of individual chemical, and wants to verify how the exposure to complex mixtures of substances can play an active role in the genesis of the disease.” (Red)
