Oncology research

Why it is critical

Oncology is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. In this area, scientific research is the key tool for better understanding the disease and developing increasingly effective therapies against complex diseases such as cancer.

Thanks to advances in research, cancer is less scary today: many patients live with the disease for a long time or achieve recovery even in forms once considered incurable. Major innovations introduced include molecular targeted therapies,immunotherapy, and CAR-T cell therapies, which make immune cells capable of recognizing and attacking cancer cells.

Research is not just in laboratories: patients can participate in clinical trials(or clinical trials), which provide safe access to innovative drugs and treatments before they are officially approved. Each stage of research is conducted in full compliance with transparency, ethics and scientific rules, under the supervision of the relevant authorities.

At least five types of cancer research can be distinguished, based on the goals pursued and the type of experiments conducted.

Epidemiological research

Epidemiologic research in oncology studies the distribution, frequency, and determinants of cancers in a population, with the goal of identifying risk factors, evaluating the effectiveness of prevention and early detection, and planning control strategies.

It can have several objectives:

Identify risk factors: identify the causes of cancers, such as exposure to smoking, carcinogens, and other factors related to lifestyles and habits;
Evaluate prevention and early detection: measure the effectiveness of screening programs and other preventive strategies for early detection of cancer;
Planning interventions: providing the basis for planning public health interventions aimed at reducing the incidence of cancer, such as anti-smoking campaigns or environmental protection measures;
Analyze public health impact: understand the impact of cancers on the population, including health and social costs.

Preclinical research

Preclinical research precedes human trials and is used to assess the preliminary safety and efficacy of new molecules or therapies.
Every substance with potential therapeutic activity is first tested in vitro (in cell cultures) and then in vivo (in animal models) to study its effects on a complex organism.

This phase provides insight into how the molecule is absorbed, distributed, metabolized, and eliminated, and helps determine its toxicity and the ideal route of administration.
The tests must be conducted in accordance with rigorous international standards, known as Good Laboratory Practices (GLP), to ensure reliable results that can serve as a basis for clinical trials in humans.

Basic research

Basic research (also known as pure or fundamental research) is experimental or theoretical work aimed at expanding scientific knowledge, without an immediate therapeutic purpose.
In the medical field, it serves as the starting point for all discoveries, as it studies the mechanisms underlying the functioning of cells and biological processes, often through biochemical, physical, or cellular models.

In oncology, basic research has made it possible to identify the genetic alterations responsible for the uncontrolled growth of cancer cells—the so-called molecular targets—from which many of the most innovative therapies available today are derived.
Often, it is precisely studies conducted for other purposes that yield unexpected discoveries that open up new therapeutic possibilities.

Translational research

It is theentire process from basic discovery to clinical application, and often includes the preclinical phase.

Translational research aims to transform results obtained from basic research into useful clinical applications for cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment-a pathway often summarized by the phrase “from bench to bedside ,” or “from the laboratory to the patient’s bedside.”

This type of research shortens the time that normally elapses between a scientific discovery and its practical application in medicine. Indeed, while basic research produces new knowledge at a rapid pace, translating it into effective therapies can take years. Translational research accelerates this process, enabling continuous updating of therapeutic strategies and more timely introduction of innovative methods into clinical practice.

A key aspect is its bidirectional nature: the patient is not only the end point of new therapies, but also a valuable source of information for research. Indeed, clinical observations, responses to treatments, and the still unmet needs of patients can generate new hypotheses and guide researchers toward further studies and trials.

It requires close collaboration between laboratory researchers and physicians to translate scientific results into concrete benefits for patients.

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Clinical research

Clinical research studies and tests on humans the efficacy and safety of new diagnostic procedures or therapies. It falls into two broad categories:

observational studies, which collect data on interventions already used in clinical practice, to analyze their effects;
experimental or interventional studies, which evaluate new therapies, drugs, or devices to see if they work, are safe, and offer advantages over existing treatments.

Each clinical trial involves patients who participate on a voluntary basis after signing informed consent, which protects privacy and ensures free and informed choice.

According toAIFA (Italian Medicines Agency) guidelines, clinical research is developed in four main phases:

Phase 1: First safety and tolerability evaluation of the drug on a limited number of healthy volunteers or patients;
Phase 2: Analysis of therapeutic activity and definition of optimal dosing on a small group of patients. At this stage, when possible, a placebo, a substance with no therapeutic efficacy, is also used to compare results and objectively assess the effect of the study drug;
Phase 3: verification of treatment efficacy on a larger number of patients, often through randomized controlled trials in which participants are randomly assigned to receive the new drug or a comparison treatment. This method allows for scientifically reliable results while minimizing possible bias;
Phase 4: Post-approval monitoring (“post-marketing surveillance”) to collect data on the long-term effects and use of the drug in the general population.