Candiolo: a new phase begins for precision cancer research

Thirty years ago, the Candiolo Institute was founded – a dream of the community, for the community. Today, that dream is taking a quantum leap and looking to the future with a new identity: the INOC – Candiolo National Oncology Institute – is born. This is not merely a name change, but the dawn of a new era for precision cancer research. The greatest challenge facing modern oncology is to defeat cancer by treating the disease not in the abstract, but on the basis of the biological and genetic profile of the individual tumour and patient. With the launch of INOC, this challenge becomes a reality thanks to the Biolife project, a structural and technological platform that will redefine the boundaries of biomedicine.

The beating heart of Biolife will be the new Cancer Biobank: covering 3,000 square metres, it will become Italia’s largest ‘living’ archive. We will no longer be talking merely about passive storage, but about a veritable factory of biological models. We will collect and preserve every biological component provided by the patient — from tissues to plasma, from DNA to faeces — so that nothing is lost.

The preservation of ‘viable’ samples is a crucial element in the operation of our Organoid Centre. Here, using advanced technologies, we will be able to replicate in vitro not only 3D mini-models of individual tumours, but also the microenvironment in which they grow, including blood vessels and immune system cells. By recreating the tumour exactly as it appears in the body, we will be able to test new drugs on a large scale, offering personalised therapies not only to our patients, but to everyone around the world who shares the same molecular characteristics.

Personalised care at INOC takes a further step forward through the analysis of the patient’s DNA using the pharmacogenomic passport. This genuine genetic identity card will reveal how each individual’s body metabolises medicines. In day-to-day clinical practice, this approach will result in scientifically tailored prescriptions and dosages, drastically reducing the risk of ineffective or harmful treatments, not only for cancer therapies but also for supportive medicines (such as antibiotics or antacids). This is the strategic direction already set out by AIFA for the national health service, and INOC is set to implement it for the first time on a large scale, starting with the most vulnerable patients. Thanks to the Centre for Advanced Omics, we will integrate genomic data with proteomics and metabolomics, finally achieving a holistic view of the disease. Precision medicine does not treat the disease in the abstract, but heals the individual in their biological uniqueness.

Scientific progress, however, cannot be separated from structural and human development. The ten-year development plan supported by the Allegra Agnelli Foundation, with an investment of 250 million euros, will see the institute exceed 95,000 square metres by 2035. Within this new ecosystem, research will be in constant dialogue with clinical practice. Spaces such as the ‘Nuvola dei Saperi’ (Cloud of Knowledge) have been created precisely to encourage daily interaction and direct, mind-to-mind exchanges between researchers and doctors, accelerating the transfer of discoveries from the laboratory bench to the patient’s bedside. All this within a One Health framework, where a 20,000-square-metre park and environmentally friendly facilities will serve as a reminder that human health is inextricably linked to that of the environment.