“Today, 450,000 new cases of cancer are diagnosed each year in France, and two out of three patients are cured, compared to one in two in the 1990s,” summarizes Fabrice Barlesi, general manager of Gustave Roussy, who organized a press conference this Wednesday, ahead of World Cancer Day, February 4.
“Arriving in 15 years at 80% of patients cured within five years thanks to the acceleration of technological progress, to the drugs and treatments that will be available – conjugated antibodies, vectorized internal radiotherapy, etc. – seems realistic to us”estimates the boss of one of the largest anti-cancer centers in Europe.
Understanding and preventing early cancers
To better manage tumors and offer personalized treatments, the institute runs several programs, including Interception (early detection and prevention for people at increased risk of cancer), InstaDiag (cancer diagnosis in 24 hours) or Fresh ( detection of tumor biomarkers with liquid biopsy). The center will also launch a study, Yoda (Young Onset Digestive Adenocarcinoma) to assess the possible effects of environmental pollution, nutrition and lifestyle in the occurrence of early-onset digestive cancers, and to propose prevention plans. . The hospital is not giving up on these digestive cancers, but also of the thyroid, breast or kidney, the increase of which among those under 40 is evident in several epidemiological studies.
Between 1990 and 2019, the cancer rate has almost doubled (+80%) in this age group worldwide, according to a large study published in 2023 by BMJ Oncology, and this phenomenon particularly affects developed countries.
“There is still a lot of work to be done to better understand the causes” of this increase in cancers among young adults, believes Fabrice Barlesi, discussing current research avenues on early exposure to risk factors (chronic inflammation, carcinogens, etc.), the role of ultra-processed foods or microplastics.
Some studies “are interested in what happened at a very young age, since that’s probably where the exposure is,” others seek to analyze “if these cancers differ from those of adulthood”, specifies Fabrice André, director of research at Gustave Roussy.
Artificial intelligence: a technological breakthrough not to be missed
While artificial intelligence (AI) is disrupting all sectors, Gustave Roussy does not intend to miss it either, particularly when it comes to exploiting huge databases. Objective: identify biomarkers and develop new treatment and therapeutic decision-making strategies. “In pathobiology, the use of artificial intelligence to analyze histological tumor slides opens the way to providing valuable support for pathologists, allowing them to extract information inaccessible to the naked eye,” explains the center. Concretely, two projects are already led by Gustave Roussy to exploit the potential of AI. The MosAIc project, which aims to create a global cancer database, and the PortrAIt project, which focuses on creating 15 artificial intelligence tools for digital pathology, to improve diagnostics.
AI is also used in radiotherapy, notably with the ImmunoRadIA team, led by Éric
Deutsch. The goal: to improve the effectiveness of radiotherapy through modulation of the immune response and the use of AI “to personalize treatments for each tumor within the same patient by analyzing clinical and imaging data.”
Beyond treatment and prevention, one of the center’s areas of development also concerns post-cancer, both to prevent recurrences, but also the side effects of sometimes particularly heavy treatments.
-The nerve center of the Paris Saclay Cancer Cluster
The center is also located in a neighborhood that is undergoing rapid change to become a strategic scientific center around cancer. The ZAC Grand Parc campus plans housing and offices around this theme. It is in this context that several actors, including Gustave Roussy, developed the Paris Saclay Cancer Cluster (PSCC), winner of the first call for expressions of interest to create bioclusters combining research, care and businesses, in the spirit of this which is done in Boston.
Read: With the Paris Saclay Cancer Cluster, Villejuif dreams of being in Boston
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“The first three projects have started within the PSCC. They concern myeloid immune cells, memory T lymphocytes resident in the tumor and mechanisms of resistance to innovative therapies,” details the institute. The Paris-Saclay Cancer Cluster also helps attract start-ups. Among these, Cure51, co-founded by Gustave Roussy, aims for example to create a global database of survivors of cancers with poor prognosis, to understand the causes of these exceptional remissions.
Jumpstart for the construction of the new building
In this context of development of the Villejuif scientific center, reinforced by the arrival of metro 14, which will also be connected to the peripheral metro 15 South in mid-2026, Gustave Roussy will also start the construction of a new campus of no less than 32,000 m2 this year., including delivery
is planned for the end of 2027. Deployed over eight floors, a building, designed by the AUC and NP2F, will accommodate 60 research teams and 12 technological platforms, including installations dedicated to data analysis, organoids and rare circulating cells.
The Institute’s real estate master plan provides for the construction of a building dedicated to the Interception prevention program, the Instadiag rapid diagnostic courses, outpatients, as well as the reception of international patients of 13,600 m2, as well as the construction of a new building intended for support functions and teaching. It will also include silo parking and a large amphitheater.
To increase its resources, the institute is investing 500 million euros, including 150 million in a new research building particularly dedicated to progress in oncology, which will open at the end of 2027.
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