TAPCells® and the scientific work led by Professor Flavio Salazar has been featured in the media.
Noticias
July 1, 2020. Las Últimas Noticias
Scientist points out that new vaccine against melanoma contains abalone molecules
Twenty years ago, nobody would give a penny for cancer immunotherapy. By that time, Flavio Salazar, Vice-Chancellor for Research at the University of Chile would spend hours watching cell life through microscopes in a dark, underground laboratory without internet signal at the Faculty of Medicine of the University. It took him five years to create TAPCells®, a kind of immunotherapy consisting in the extraction of a type of immune cells from the patient and train them on a table to learn how to eat tumours. Once trained, they are re-injected to the person with metastatic melanoma. This therapy, states the immunologist, has been successfully tested in over 300 patients.
November 13, 2019. Las Últimas Noticias
Successful lab tests of method that re-educates gallbladder cancer cells
What he did with melanoma and prostate cancer, he wants now to replicate in gallbladder cancer. Flavio Salazar, Vice-Chancellor of Research and Development at University of Chile demonstrated the therapy he patented a few years ago, the one that re-educates the immune system in order to attack tumours, has had good results in studies carried out in patient biopsies. “This step is prior to start performing clinical studies in humans”, he remarks.
July 2, 2019
Chilean melanoma and prostate cancer treatment to be tested in Brazil
A therapy developed in Chile against melanoma and prostate cancer will be tested in Brazil through an agreement signed between University of Chile and San Lucas Cell Therapy Group research centre, in Brazil.
June 27, 2019. Las Últimas Noticias
Brazilians test Dr. Salazar’s cellular re-educator
Training takes between two and three days, enough time for 120.000.000 cells obtained from a patient’s blood to learn the exact way to activate the immune system so as to destroy tumours generated from cancer. Flavio Salazar, Vice-Chancellor of Research and Development at University of Chile, is those cells re-educator. He started his studies about 15 years ago in a basement at the Faculty of Medicine. His creation is called TAPCells®, an effective immunotherapy against melanoma and prostate cancer to be tested and surveyed in a new population: Brazilians and their National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA, in Portuguese).
January 1, 2019. CancerLatam
Skin Cancer: Chile at the forefront with personalised vaccines
Therapy developed by national researchers prolongs patient survival by up to three years in advanced skin cancer cases. One group of patients even broke the 5-year barrier. This is very good news especially in the month chosen to raise awareness of solar radiation dangers.
January 18, 2019. El Definido
Three revolutionary vaccines “made in Chile”. National immunotherapy can save from skin cancer
In Chile, Dr. Flavio Salazar, current IMII deputy director and Vice-Chancellor of Research and Development at University of Chile, has been working in the development of a vaccine against melanoma for nearly two decades. Since 2002, together with his team of researchers, they started testing dendritic cells (a type of immune system cell) to “educate” them in a laboratory to attack the tumour and subsequently re-inject them as immune vaccine in patients.
April 8, 2018. La Hora
Chileans test cure for gallbladder cancer
Therapy based on the affected person’s own immune system is the option for those patients in whom surgery for gallbladder cancer does not work. This is the proposal led by Flavio Salazar (photo), deputy director of Millenium Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy (IMII, in Spanish) at University of Chile.
January 26, 2018. Las Últimas Noticias
Patient tells how he recovered from terminal cancer with cell re-education therapy
Millenium Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy (IMII, in Spanish) Deputy Director Flavio Salazar developed treatment which consists of extracting and training immune system cells to regain the function of eating the tumours.
April 16, 2017. Diario Financiero
Export technology against cancer
A therapeutic vaccine based on patients’ own dendritic cells has emerged from University of Chile. We are talking about TAPCells®, already in its internationalization stage.
December 12, 2016. University of Chile
Leaders in cancer research will present cutting-edge therapies at International Symposium
Faced with one of the leading causes of death in the world, eight experts in human carcinoma from various countries will be presenting the latest immune therapy advances against this pathology at the International Symposium “Bright present and future of cancer immunology”,
organised by the Vice-Chancellor’s Office of Research and Development (VID, in Spanish) of the University of Chile and the Millenium Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy (IMII, in Spanish).
August 4, 2016. Capital
Chilean Squad against cancer
Chile is not usually the epicentre of scientific research. However, there are several compatriots in the international radar for their contributions to the struggle against the disease that kills 8.2 million people yearly, adding 14 million new cases a year. “The main problem with cancer is that we still don’t know what it is”, one of them summarises.
July 11, 2016. Tercer Milenio
Heavy Artillery against Cancer
Science advances in war against this disease, which is actually a collection of diseases, and deploys its troops on several troops: Advances in immune oncology together with combined therapies and better technologies for early detection. But can cancer be cured? To many experts, despite prevailing optimism after the latest biomedical progress, we will have to learn how to live for ever with this disease deeply linked to the natural ageing process.
June 24, 2016. La Segunda
Innovations in prostate cancer reatment
Radioactive seeds, use of microwaves and robotic surgery are some of the existing alternatives to treat this pathology, nowadays. In addition to these, there is a Chilean innovation called TAPCells®, based on immunotherapy.
April 7, 2016. El Mostrador
Immunotherapy to benefit gallbladder cancer research
An important aspect to be considered is that the disease has no clear or specific symptomatology, a situation that would lead to a late diagnosis and thus a poor prognosis.
September 3, 2015. Capital
Blood against cancer
Salazar is optimistic about the progress made in recent years together with his colleagues Mercedes López and Carlos Ferrada from University of Chile, and Millenium Institute, which brings together Catholic University, University of Chile and University Andres Bello researchers in several initiatives, but he says he does not fancy himself making history as the vaccine inventor. “What I care the most is that Chile achieves it, that someone achieves it. If it’s going to be me, awesome, but there are other technologies in development”.
March 11, 2015. El Mercurio
Contributions to immunotherapy in the treatment of breast cancer
University of Chile researcher explains the scope of this sort of therapy which has several comparative advantages over conventional chemotherapeutical treatments.
February 9, 2015. El Mercurio
Testimonies
Young researchers reveal difficulties of doing science in Chile.
January 10, 2015. TVN, 24 Horas
Chilean therapy against melanoma improves patient survival
More than 300 Chileans have been treated with this vaccine that targets tumour cells, using the immune system’s own mechanisms.
January 8, 2015. Chilebiotech
Chilean doctors develop vaccine against cancer to be tested in Cuba
Alexis Kalergis, Millenium Institute in Immunology Director, explained to Cooperativa radio that the antidote extends the patient’s life by several months.
“This type of technology is very recent and highly complex, and requires clinical evaluation in volunteers and patients”.
December 29, 2014. La Tercera
Cuba to test cancer vaccine developed in Chile
Therapy against melanoma, a type of skin-cancer, has been developed by Millenium Institute of Immunology at University of Chile. After 10 years of research, it was found that 60% of treated patients had a threefold increase in survival.
October 20, 2014. El Mercurio
Contributions to immunotherapy in the treatment of breast cancer
University of Chile researcher explains the scope of this sort of therapy which has several comparative advantages over conventional chemotherapeutical treatments.
August 1, 2014. Explora
Export Vaccines
Ten and twelve years have passed respectively, since Dr.Flavio Salazar and Dr. Alexis Kalergis started different studies in Chile. The first one would seek to fight one of the most aggressive types of cancer: melanoma, and the second was looking for a solution to a problem that afflicted us all, year after year: syncytial virus.
December 20, 2013. La Tercera
Cancer immunotherapy, the breakthrough of the year, says Science
Scientific Journal points out that the technique has become an important paradigm for this disease treatment.
November 25, 2013, Ercilla
Prostate cancer progression slowed down
University of Chile researchers publish study results using immune-system cells activated to fight tumours in prostate cancer successfully, in prestigious British scientific journal.
October 25, 2013. Innovación
Chilean scientists test prostate cancer treatment
Team of researchers from the University of Chile, led by Drs. Flavio Salazar and Mercedes Lopez, published study results using immune-system cells activated to fight tumours in prostate cancer successfully, in prestigious British scientific journal.
May 15, 2012. Radio Biobio
Chilean discovery strengthens skin cancer therapy increasing life expectancy
University of Chile researchers, led by Dr. Flavio Salazar discovered a key genetic marker to predict clinical efficacy in immunological skin cancer treatment, called malignant melanoma. The study was published this month in the prestigious international scientific journal: Cancer Immunology Immunotherapy, becoming the basis for an efficient and customised design of future effective treatments against melanoma and other cancer types.
September 24, 2011
Immune system: latest medicine bid against cancer
40 years after the beginning of frontal combat against this disease, no therapy has been able to eradicate it. But the key to its defeat could be found in the mechanism in charge of defending us from diseases. The Key? To boost it to detect malignant cells and destroy them.
March 31, 2011. El Mercurio
Cancer research is key
Scientific research is the basis for the development of new, customised, effective and with less adverse effects cancer treatment.
January 19, 2011. Las Últimas Noticias
Chilean Doctors develop successful treatment to cure skin cancer
University of Chile researchers use patients’ own blood.
January 18, 2011. Cooperativa
Doctor assured skin cancer vaccine is already available in Chile
Treatment is available for patients with advanced melanoma. 60% of people already treated have had a positive response.
Best of Chilean Science in 2010
Cancer Immunotherapy
Skin melanomas and prostate cancer are growing diseases in the country. Prostate diseases have caused the death of 22 thousand Chileans, and in the last 15 years the number of people affected has doubled.
August 20, 2010. U.of Chile Faculty of Medicine
University of Chile and Oncobiomed develop technology consortium
Bello’s House is on the verge of establishing its first licencing agreement with a technology company born within its own walls, setting up a model for similar initiatives emerging from its faculties and, in the process, initiating knowledge and science transfer to local industry for its development.
July 6, 2010. Diario Financiero
Chilean researchers formulate prostate cancer personalised therapy
Very recently, American FDA approved a similar therapy, which would show the promising future of the Millenium Immunology Nucleus’ proposal.
May 9, 2010. La Tercera
Chileans develop innovative treatment for prostate cancer patients
First Chilean treatment for patients who no longer have surgical hope passed tolerance, toxicity and safety tests. Administered to 20 patients, it was 70% effective. The therapy, new in the world, uses the patient’s immune system to fight the tumour and improve survival.
November 4, 2009. El Mercurio
Chile advances in the development of vaccines to defeat cancer
Getting one’s own body to recognise tumour cells and fight them is the objective of these vaccines under experimentation worldwide.
2003.12.01. The Lancet
Phase I melanoma trial puts Chile on the map
A Chilean phase 1 trial with an autologous dendritic cell (DC) vaccine against malignant melanoma has shown the agent to be safe and capable of producing an antitumour immune response.