Cancer Can Be Defeated Through Cooperation
The main guidelines of ISPRO (Istituto per lo Studio, la Prevenzione e la Rete Oncologica – Institute for Cancer Research, Prevention and Clinical Network), former ITT (Istituto Toscano Tumori – Tuscan Cancer Institute) are to understand, treat and prevent cancer. ISPRO is a network institution located in all Tuscan Healthcare Agencies and is involved in cancer prevention, research, and assistance. The network system, created in 2005, was built to meet the needs of patients, who can receive the best integrated care close to their place of residence, thanks to the varied expertise available on the territory. ISPRO is based on three principles: unified management system, same therapeutic workup, presence of specialized centers for cancer therapy.
The ISPRO scientific and executive board, directed by Gianni Amunni, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, is located in Florence, and has a Core Research Laboratory, which represents the focus of the ISPRO research activity on cancer and its origins. The Core Research Laboratory is made up of five units: three of them are located in the ISPRO headquarters in Florence, the other two are in Siena and in Pisa.
In his interview, Mario Chiariello, responsible of the Siena ISPRO Core Research Laboratory, explains the activities and projects of the organization he manages: on the one hand, basic research in the oncology field, to understand the reasons for the onset of human tumors, including rare ones (testicle and chronic myeloid leukemia); on the other hand, the production on nanoparticles able to “strike” the different tumors in a specific way. In the Core Research Laboratory, scientists are involved in the creation of nanostructures able to identify and destroy tumors by carrying specific drugs or innovative contrast agents, such as gold or iron, for diagnosis through photoacustic and magnetic resonance imaging.
ISPRO also comprises 16 oncological departments, one for each healthcare structure and university hospital, the Institute for Cancer Research and Prevention (ISPO), 51 hospitals in the Region of Tuscany, and 20 Regional Reference Centers, facilities that, for single fields of competence, act as reference point for all the others.
The ISPRO work group is made up of experts involved in research development and in producing and keeping updated clinical recommendations valid for all regional oncological services.
The ISPRO Core Laboratory has been incubated in TLS since 2008

For more information: http://www.ispo.toscana.it/