INCLIVA and Hospital Clínico de Valencia hold a meeting to bring research closer to breast cancer patients and understand their concerns

This article was authored by INCLIVA Biomedical Research Institute

• During the event, the current state of research to advance in prevention, early diagnosis, and personalized treatments with the support of technological tools and AI was presented
• The interventions, through various presentations and workshops, highlighted the benefits of physical exercise and emotional management, addressing specific aspects such as sexuality

The Breast Cancer Biology Research Group at the INCLIVA Biomedical Research Institute and the Breast Cancer Unit at the Hospital Clínico de Valencia have organized the third Meeting with patient associations to address this disease with a comprehensive approach, informing about the current state of research to advance in prevention, early detection, and personalized treatments, and highlighting the patients’ perspective to improve their emotional management and ensure their quality of life.

Bringing breast cancer research conducted at INCLIVA closer to patients, providing participants with the opportunity to express their doubts and concerns related to the course of their disease and recovery, has been the goal of the meeting, held yesterday at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Valencia (UV).

Representatives from various associations, including Asociación de Cáncer de Mama Metastásico, Mou-Te per Elles, Asociación de Mama Triple Negativo-Las Triples, and Cáncer con Limón, as well as patients participating in INCLIVA research projects such as REBECCA and MELIORA, attended the event.

The meeting included three presentations, which concluded with a round table, and incorporated, as a novelty compared to previous editions, three workshops for patients that allowed the exchange of knowledge and information on prevention, diagnosis, and more effective therapies not only in terms of survival but also in terms of impact on their daily lives.

Throughout the morning, general aspects of citizen participation (importance, benefits, and challenges) were also discussed, as well as the different approaches to it in health R&D&I. Additionally, attendees reflected on how INCLIVA research groups can involve and co-create with citizens during the design and execution of their projects.

Marta Tapia Céspedes, from the Breast Cancer Biology Research Group at INCLIVA and the Breast Cancer Unit at the Hospital Clínico de Valencia, in her presentation ‘Looking to the Future: REBECCA and MELIORA,’ explained the objectives of these European projects in which INCLIVA participates. In this regard, she recalled the purpose of REBECCA, which investigates chronic diseases induced by breast cancer based on real data obtained from multiple sources and relies on a technological tool that allows obtaining information about each patient’s lifestyle – physical activity, diet, sleep quality, and time spent daily on work, rest, and commuting – through smart devices – such as mobile phones, tablets, and smartwatches – to integrate it into their clinical history and thus better direct their treatment.

She also referred to MELIORA, a project aimed at developing AI-driven interventions designed to advance breast cancer prevention through digital health innovation and reduce the risk of this disease through personalized lifestyle changes.

Marta de la Fuente Lago, a health psychologist, psycho-oncologist, specialist in anxiety and stress, from MFL Psicología in A Coruña, focused on ‘The Emotional Impact of Breast Cancer,’ which is based on the evidence that “an oncological process is an emotional journey where intense emotions are experienced, and we do not always have the resources to manage them”. In her presentation, she invited reflection and training in practical tools to recognize, express, and regulate emotions, creating support spaces where patients can share, understand, and learn to regulate their emotions.

Eva Tamayo, from the Exercise, Nutrition, and Healthy Lifestyle Research Group at INCLIVA and Freshage Research Group at the University of Valencia and the Biomedical Research Network Center for Frailty and Healthy Aging (CIBERFES) of the Carlos III Health Institute, highlighted in her intervention ‘Physical Exercise and Cancer’ the benefits of physical exercise in breast cancer. In this regard, she indicated guidelines on how to start and recommendations on the type of exercises, duration and frequency, contraindications, and some tips for practice.

Finally, she explained a new project called ‘KETO-BREX,’ which her research group is developing in coordination with the Breast Cancer Biology Research Group at INCLIVA. In this project, a personalized multimodal prehabilitation program based on lifestyle modification (supervised multicomponent physical exercise and ketogenic diet) will be carried out along with the prescription of neoadjuvant chemotherapy with the intention of modifying the metabolism of breast cancer patients and obtaining therapeutic benefits.

Workshops for breast cancer patients

Patients who attended the meeting were able to choose to participate in one of the three workshops organized, with the collaboration of UV, which provided a space for the celebration of one of them.

Jesús Adolfo Alarcón, PhD in Physical Activity and Sport, professor at the Universidad Europea de Madrid, and specialist in exercise prescription for health, led the workshop ‘Physical Exercise for Breast Cancer Patients.’ The workshop combined a theoretical part, explaining how physical activity contributes to improving quality of life, reducing fatigue, and enhancing recovery, with a practical part where adapted exercises and strategies for incorporating them into daily life were taught. This initiative aimed to empower participants with safe and effective tools to stay active during and after treatment.

Marta de la Fuente Lago, in her workshop on ‘Emotional Management’ linked to her previous intervention, focused on “sexuality in the context of cancer, an aspect often silenced but profoundly important in the experience of the disease.” In this type of workshop, changes, doubts, and resources that can help rebuild the connection with one’s body, desire, and intimacy were explored from a respectful and inclusive perspective.

Esther Jiménez, health psychologist, founder of SAFE Psicología center in Madrid, specialist in sexology, couple therapy, and trauma, also led a workshop on sexuality. In this experiential workshop, she proposed opening a safe space for women who have gone through breast cancer and are in treatment or recovery stage, where they can talk without taboos about sexuality, desire, and body. Through practical activities and dialogue spaces, participants were invited to reconnect with pleasure and redefine the relationship with their own body from intimacy, respect, and self-listening.

Bringing science closer to society: CONECTA INCLIVA

This meeting with breast cancer patient associations is part of the European projects REBECCA and MELIORA, funded respectively by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (GA 965231) and Horizon Europe (GA 101136791).

Additionally, the event is part of the CONECTA INCLIVA initiative, launched in 2020 with the aim of connecting research and society and promoting more inclusive research and innovation, where society is given a voice and heard to play a more significant role in all phases of research and innovation. This action aligns with the pillars of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) and INCLIVA’s translational research vocation.