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At the European LUCIA Project, in which we are collaborating, a research study is being carried out on lung cancer risk factors with the collaboration of the Basque health service Osakidetza, the Virgen de la Macarena University Hospital (part of the Andalusian Health System), and the University Hospital of Liege, in Belgium.  In this study, volunteers who are part of Bilbomática are also collaborating, and we wish to express our most sincere gratitude to them.

Lung cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, and its relationship with genetic and environmental factors is still an area under constant research.  The LUCIA Project seeks to gain a deeper understanding of how factors such as genetic mutations, biomarkers, and elements in the environment, such as air pollution and tobacco use, affect the appearance and development of this disease.

One of the most important innovations that LUCIA has incorporated into its research is the use of knowledge graphs.  This technology allows for complex data to be organized and connected, providing a more integral overview of the interactions between the different factors that influence the disease.  Thanks to the graphs, it is possible to relate and analyze large volumes of data, which facilitates the identification of patterns which, in more traditional analyses, would go unnoticed.

For example, knowledge graphs allow for the mapping of the relationships between genetic mutations, such as those which affect the EGFR gene, and risk factors associated with the environment or lifestyle, such as the habit of smoking.  This type of focus helps to uncover how these mutations increase the probability of resistance to certain treatments and allows researchers to ask more complex questions about the disease.

Personalized treatments

One of the main objectives of LUCIA is to develop more personalized and effective treatments to combat lung cancer.  By integrating clinical data and genetic and environmental information, researchers can design more precise therapies for each patient, which represents a significant breakthrough in the field of personalized medicine.  Moreover, graph technology has allowed for erroneous theories about cancer risk factors to be corrected.

A curious case was the analysis of the relationship between certain dietary habits and cancer risk, which reached the erroneous conclusion that the consumption of certain types of fats was directly related to a higher risk of developing the disease.  However, by incorporating graph technology and mapping out the interactions between mutated genes, diet, and family history, researchers discovered that the incidence of cancer among some population groups was not related to diet, but rather to specific genetic mutations that were not previously taken into consideration.

The LUCIA Project represents a clear example of the importance of international collaboration in the fight against complex diseases.  The participation of different institutions allows for researchers from different countries to share knowledge and experiences, which enriches the research process, improving the quality of the studies and accelerating the development of new therapies.

At Bilbomática, we’re committed to technological innovation to improve public health, and thanks to the commitment and support of all the people involved, the LUCIA Project will continue to advance towards its goal of improving the quality of life of many patients, which will provide new knowledge about lung cancer, and which will help to develop more effective and personalized treatments.

The LUCIA project receives funding from the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement 101096473.