The Unoentrecienmil Foundation, dedicated to promoting research projects to cure childhood leukemia, has launched a campaign called “Leukemia, go now” with actor Luis Tosar in the lead role, in which it ensures that children with leukemia in Spain are treated with a different treatment protocol from the rest of Europe. With a survival rate of 84.7%, Spain ranks thirteenth, behind countries such as Finland (94.5%), the United Kingdom (92.2%) and Germany (91%).
These countries are implementing the “ALL Together” protocol, introduced in Spain by the Spanish Society of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology (SEHOP) through a pilot project financed by private funds. The Unoentrecienmil Foundation has invested almost one million euros and thanks to this, the laboratories of the Niño Jesús Hospital in Madrid and Sant Joan de Déu Hospital in Barcelona have been equipped to carry out a test that facilitates the diagnosis and monitoring of patients. Although 100 children in Spain are benefiting from this initiative, current efforts are still not enough to cover all the needs: around 300 cases are diagnosed each year throughout the country.
To ensure that the treatment reaches all patients, it must be assumed and financed by public administrations. “It is not a question of government, nor of colors or parties, it is a question of collaboration so that between all the autonomies we sit down and do this work. New treatments are not necessary, it is enough to know how to administer them,” explains Elena Huarte-Mendicoa, director of Unoentrecienmil, to elDiario.es. In addition, he assures that the additional cost per patient would only be 5,500 euros: “It is not something that corresponds to an organization with private funds but to the National Health System.”
This innovative protocol for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALA) aims to improve treatment efficacy, reduce toxicity and personalize the therapeutic approach according to the individual characteristics of each patient. Patients survive longer and the percentage of deaths due to relapse has decreased significantly. This is another step in the fight against the leading cause of childhood mortality in Spain.
