Oncologist Dr. Fernando Maluf is the winner of the Renata Thormann Procianoy award, awarded by the Cura Project Institute to honor Brazilian scientific researchers who have contributed to the improvement of treatments and patient survival.

The award was announced this Tuesday (9) during the Best Of ASCO20 Virtual, Brazil edition, an official event licensed by ASCO (American Society of Clinical Oncology), which annually promotes the largest and most important global Oncology Congress.

Dr. Fernando Maluf is the principal investigator of a 100% Brazilian study on a new drug for advanced prostate cancer. Coordinated by the Latin Oncology Group (LACOG), based in Porto Alegre (RS), the clinical trial involved 14 research centers and several Brazilian oncologists.

The results were presented by the doctor at the plenary session of the American Virtual ASCO20 on May 29 and, this Monday (8), at the Brazilian event. According to him, the work showed very interesting results and managed to reach the podium at the American Oncology Congress. “The unprecedented nature of this research highlights the great importance it can generate for patients from all over the world and that is why this work was selected as one of the most important of the entire conference,” he explains.

The scientific committee responsible for choosing the winner of the Renata Thormann Procianoy prize was chaired by the medical director of the Sírio Libanês hospital and professor of the Academy of Leadership Sciences Switzerland, oncologist Dr. Max Mano.

About the research

Testosterone is the main food of the malignant prostate cancer cell and the standard treatment procedure is hormonal castration — chemical or surgical. However, according to Maluf, “the reduction of testosterone in men leads to a series of side effects: loss of libido, potency, bone and muscle mass and neurological effects, in addition to calories, placing the quality of life at a level that is often very low”.

The study presented at ASCO submitted 128 patients to the use of drugs that prevent testosterone from reaching the cancer cell.

According to the oncologist, “this is the first study in the world to evaluate these new strategies in advanced prostate cancer with the objective of, in a confirmatory study, replacing hormonal castration with these new drugs, preserving the same efficacy but increasing the quality of life”.

The doctor works at the Benedicência Portuguesa Hospital in São Paulo and the Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein. He is a professor at the Faculty of Medical Sciences of Santa Casa de São Paulo.

Renata Thormann Procianoy Award

This was the second edition of the Renata Thormann Procianoy award. In 2019, the winner was the doctor  Thiago Bueno , from the AcCamargo hospital, thanks to work aimed at patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer.

Laurea's name  It is a tribute to Renata, who died in a car accident in 2013. Renata worked tirelessly searching for research that would help her mother, Nora Thormann, discover a treatment for the cancer she was facing.

The efforts resulted in the inclusion of Nora in research coordinated by doctor Roberto Miranda at the MD Anderson hospital at the University of Texas (USA). After the episode, Nora wanted to contribute to research and promoted a donation to the Cura Project, which was directed to research coordinated by LACOG.

According to the president of Cura, Fernanda Schwyter, “the mission of the Cura Project is to develop the culture of philanthropy in Latin America, to make the population aware of the benefits of research, to encourage new researchers, to attract and manage, with the best ethical rigors, resources to finance oncological research in the region, which contribute to the discovery of a cure for cancer”.