One of the goals of the In Silico World project is to ensure correct information on the opportunities offered by In Silico Trials. On July 4th, the University of Bologna, in collaboration with Fondazione G.Re.T.A. ETS Group for Reconstructive and Therapeutic Advancements, organized a small group workshop on Computational Oncology.
The goal was to engage with a small group of breast surgeons specialised in the treatment of breast cancer, to illustrate them how computational oncology can transform clinical trials of new treatments and interventions.
Prof. Marco Viceconti (University of Bologna) presented the new frontiers of in silico medicine and how the computational sciences could be used at the service of medicine. He also introduced the blueprint of a Digital Twin in Healthcare to predict the effect of treatments on solid tumours, which could become the basis for an In Silico Trial.
Prof. Viceconti
Dr. Giuseppe Catanuto presented the G.Re.T.A. Foundation, a new charity founded by Prof. Maurizio Bruno Nava and his fellows in March 2017 with the purpose continue the research and academic work done in the past by the “Scuola di Oncologia Chirurgica–Ricostruttiva”.
Prof. Francesco Pappalardo, from the University of Catania, presented an exemplary application to breast cancer and, in the specific, he talked about the UISS-MC solution developed by his research team within the In Silico World Project.
UISS-MC has been developed by the Combine Group of the Department of Drug and Health Sciences of the University of Catania and it’s a model capable to simulate the dynamics of the human immune system in response to mammary carcinoma. It can be used to optimise the dosage of vaccination programs, to achieve effective anti-cancer vaccination protocols that can be competitive with those designed by humans, reducing animal testing, clinical trials and above all improving the safety of medical products.
Prof. Pappalardo and Dr. Catanuto
The presentations were followed by an articulated discussion on the opportunities and risks such radical innovation can bring in the context of breast cancer. It was agreed to evaluate similar future initiatives, always targeted to the information of clinical specialists to the opportunities offered by In Silico Trials.
