Page 48 - CIBEREHD-2015-eng

Research Groups
G0005
Programme: Hepatic & Gastrointestinal Oncology Lead Researcher: Bruix Tudó, Jordi
Group members
STAFF MEMBERS: Boix Ferrero, Loreto | Esteva Espinosa, Clara | Martínez Quetglas, Iris | Peix Gallofre, Judit | Pérez Pons, Nuria | Reig Monzón, Ma Elisa | Ribeiro de Souza, Andrea.
ASSOCIATED MEMBERS: Ayuso Colella, Ma Carmen | Bianchi Cardona, Luis | Bru Saumell, Concepción | Forner González, Alejandro | Fuster Obregón, Josep | Llovet Bayer, Josep Ma | Solé Arques, Manuel | Vilana Puig, Ramon.
Main lines of research
This group known as the BCLC group is devoted to clinical and translational research in liver can- cer, especially to two major fields: clinical research and molecular profiling. As a referral group it main- tains an intense clinical activity that allows running studies including from epidemiology to diagnosis, prognosis and treatment. The creation of a tissue collection and the organization of an International Genomic Consortium with other institutions from abroad (Mount Sinai Medical School in New York, Harvard University, Institute Nationale di Tumori di Milan) has facilitated several investigations to ex- pand the knowledge of the oncogenic mechanisms, the proposal of a molecular classification for liver cancer and the identification of potential novel tar- gets.
The BCLC group has received wide international 48 I Annual report 2015 I CIBEREHD
recognition for its work at all levels. At the clinical level the group established the relevance of hepati- tis C virus infection as a risk factor for liver cancer, defined the imaging criteria for imaging diagnosis of liver cancer, defined the role of portal pressure measurement in the selection of candidates for sur- gery, established the benefits of ablation for early stage cancers and, more importantly, demonstrat- ed the benefit of chemoembolization and sorafenib through phase 3 randomised trials.
Furthermore, the BCLC strategy for prognosis assessment and treatment allocation has been endorsed by major scientific associations and re- search consortia. The BCLC contributions have laid the foundation for the development of international practice guidelines based on scientific evidence as done by EASL, AASLD, WGO, ESMO and ILCA. In-