Maurizio Scaltetti, pioneer of translational medicine in oncology."Cancer? We'll beat it" - La

A molecular biologist from Reggio Emilia is building the future of oncology in Maryland: he leads teams and research that leads to new drugs to treat tumors."THIS...

"Cancer is doomed."In Gaithersburg, Maryland, in Northern Washington, there is a place where the future of cancer care is being built.New molecules, biomarkers and drugs will enter medicine within five or ten years.And among those contributing to this change, there is a famous Italian molecular scientist, a pioneer of translational medicine.

His name is Maurizio Scaltritti, 52 years old, who has spent 25 years pursuing a goal: bringing advanced treatments into the real world. "Translational medicine is a discipline that acts as a bridge between the laboratory and the clinic."

Originally from Correggio, he defines himself as a "reggiano doc".Academic life abroad, and then, starting in 2020, in a large pharmaceutical company.Today, he is Vice President of Translational Medicine Research and Development in Oncology at AstraZeneca.He leads a team of 170 scientists.It moves in different worlds: academia, clinic, industry, dissemination, always maintaining a critical, ethical and deeply human view of science.He is an optimist."My optimism is based on data. It's no longer a question of "if" we'll beat cancer, but when.

Not that, but when is the subject of his book (published by Piemme).

Scaltriti has more than 30,000 scientific citations. His discoveries led to many advances in the treatment of breast cancer. He created new drugs. He is the founder of a completely Italian health technology startup that offers postgraduate education.Telling oncologists which treatments to use by comparing patients' data with all the research in the world.

Scaltriti's journey is unique.He is not a doctor.Diploma in veterinary medicine from the University of Bologna.Diploma thesis in biochemistry.PhD in molecular biology between Modena and New York.Post-doc in Barcelona, ​​​​where he lived for six years.Here he met his mentor José Baselga, one of the most influential oncologists in the world, a key figure in the development of precision oncology medicine."He was an extraordinary drug developer In the field of translational medicine, we should all have a mentor. He took me to Harvard, then he became the scientific director of the Memorial Sloan Center in New York.

In 2020, Scaltriti leaves the Academy and joins AstraZeneca, which is active in the research and development of innovative therapies in the field of oncology.«With translational medicine, on the one hand, we analyze tissues, samples, blood of patients before, during and after treatment in order to better understand what is happening at the molecular level in these tumors.On the other hand, thanks to technology, we use this information to test and validate new therapies.We are discovering biomarkers in patients who respond to some therapies, while others are resistant."

I am interviewing him by videoconference, for him it is 1:00 p.m., for us it is 7:00 p.m. He talks about data, cites research, numbers.He is popular.If you follow him on X, you will understand his style.He has been abroad for many years but is in love with Italy and very connected to his country.He is working on solid tumors."We are working on about forty different molecules and at the same time in about 200 clinical trials."

What if you had to define cancer?

"Cancer is a disease of the DNA and the immune system. In order for it to develop, two conditions must occur: on the one hand, the accumulation of changes in the DNA of a cell, on the other hand, the presence of a tolerant microenvironment, which allows these cells to proliferate without being eliminated. If the immune system always worked 100%, this would not happen. Venen."

Where are we with the research?

"If we look at the chronology of the last hundred years, we see an accelerated progress in oncology research and clinics (here Scaltriti also makes a hand gesture, draws a curve and rises sharply ed.). 30 years ago we only had chemotherapy (which is now decreasing), radiotherapy and the first hormone therapy. Today we have hundreds of new molecules based on dozens of different mechanisms. The difference is between a workhorse and a Lamborghini. But otherthere is good news."

"Cancer is increasingly curable. Many people have a shelf life. Since the late 1990s, the death rate has been steadily decreasing. . . ."

What kind of tumors?

"Most breast cancers are curable. If it's an estrogen receptor-positive tumor, more than 90% of patients can be cured. My mother had this type of breast cancer in 1999 and survived. Recovery from many types of leukemia, including childhood leukemia, is possible. These are stories we see every day. There is another metric that is often used when talking about cancer: the five-year survival rate after diagnosis. This year,the first time, at least in the United States, and in Europe, things are equally bad, with 5-year survival rates reaching 70% for each tumor. Thirty years ago, the price was less than 50 ... "

Will we be able to defeat him completely?

"Yes, in my opinion, yes. We can't declare the war won today, because there's not one cancer, but hundreds. But for many types of tumors, it's going to take a long time until we beat them, even at the metastatic stage. And we don't have to wait 100 years to see this thing. We're seeing it now..."

Is it the fruit of progress, technology, capital, human genius?

"It is the result of hard work, a lot of research. And techniques. The better the technology, the more we can go deeper: understand the weakness of the tumor, its Achilles heel or how it adapts to new molecules. In addition, technology allows us to design drugs in a more sophisticated and more diverse mode of action. Thirty years ago we had two ways to fight tumors, today we have two ways to fight tumors. almost by taking both hands and bringing them together..."

I did not expect this optimism...

"The bad news is more recent. I have a position: if everything goes well, I am working on drugs that will enter clinical therapy in 5-10 years. I cannot predict the future, but I know that some of these will work. Those who do my work in the most important pharmaceutical companies may see similar things. It is like a Formula 1 race, who will win in a few seconds".

Have you ever regretted leaving science?

"Progress will never be made if there is no alliance between pharmaceutical companies and the academic world. And the industry has resources that the academic world does not have. But one knows how the other cannot, it is really a perfect mutual symbiosis. Besides, there is something that unites us and may be a little naive: it is the desire to contribute to the progress of humanity."

What does Italy look like from there?

"I often return to Italy, I was in Milan a few days ago. I see the birth of a new generation of oncologists, 30-40 years old, exceptional researchers, motivated, ready, involved"

"Tell me more..."

You are not a doctor, but you are one of the most famous scientists in the field of oncology.Why did you choose this field?

"A lot of people think of my mom, who once I graduated from college at 24, she had breast cancer. Actually, I've always had a passion for biology, for cells, for molecules. I did my doctorate in the basic lab that does oncology. A door opened and I walked in, like in the movie Sleeping Doors, and then I followed that path. The first 'gear shift' happened.Barcelona,​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Cu toate acestea, am trăit pentru a lucra în acei ani, mă simțeam beat, pentru că eram departe de familia mea.

Was it difficult?

"There's a precise moment when you know you're not coming back. And you have to get used to a language that's not yours, a culture that's not yours. And that for the next 20 or 30 years you're a bit on loan. It's a bit of a hard moment to accept."

"You also have to deal with this chronic failure. Always be calm, ready to feel yourself every time you come home. And see you old, grandchildren, friends you lost."

Lesson: What have you learned in your life that can be useful to all of us?

"I'll tell you in English: You never know. You never know. I never thought that I would do what I do, get what I get. I don't know what I will do with my life. And along the way I have fear, uncertainty, many times I look in the mirror and say to myself: What are you doing in this faraway place in Yorkshire or in this apartment in Boston in every day place that you want to solve? I don't think I'm a smart person,I'm lucky to have someone who believes in me that I'm not alone.