Science on Screen: New Paths for the Treatment of Oral Cancer

• Grant number: 23/18088-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Journalism
• Start date: May 01, 2024
• End date: October 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Dentistry
• Principal Investigator: Pablo Agustin Vargas
• Grantee: Samantha de Fátima Ferreira
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Odontologia de Piracicaba (FOP). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 16/05710-4 - Disrupting tumor resistance through therapy targeting depletion of cancer stem cells in head and neck cancer, AP.TEM

Abstract

The research project selected refers to the thematic project entitled: "Disruption of tumorresistance through therapy directed at tumor stem cell depletion in head and necksquamous cell carcinomas". This project was chosen for this call considering the resultsalready achieved by the thematic under development, the dedication of the team involvedin the project and especially due to the importance of the subject. Despite the positiveimpact of therapeutic advances on the survival of patients with some types of cancer, theimprovement in the treatment of advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck(HNSCC) remains modest. Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is the most common type oforal cancer and has an increasing incidence in many countries. Despite the great advancein the understanding of the disease, the survival rate has not shown significantimprovement in recent decades. The relevance of the research proposed in the project tobe disseminated via social media lies in its potential for the development of a newtherapeutic strategy that aims to act on HNSCC and tumor cells, called tumor stem cells.Another interesting aspect for the dissemination of the project via Edital Comunicar refersto the team and institutions involved, two national and one international (FOPUNICAMP, FO-UFRGS and the University of Michigan SoD). This team will allow agreater reach of the dissemination of the studies by the institutions and related audiences.In addition to the group of professors involved, undergraduate, master's and doctoralstudents have worked together on the project. 3 international studies have already beenpublished and they need better scientific dissemination, especially when it comes to aninnovative topic in the understanding of the biological behavior of HNSCC and itspotential response to new drugs. Thus, the selected undergraduate students will have anexperience with a research environment as well as the production of quality scientificcontent for the population, stimulating interests in peers and in society. Some guidingquestions will be used to arouse interest in the public, with emphasis on: "Do you knowabout head and neck cancer?" Do you know what the most common risk factors are andhow they manifest themselves? "Did you know that head and neck cancer can be resistantto treatment?", followed by updated data on the subject and with results of the project'sstudies. Tools available in the digital online universe will be used, especially socialnetworks, with emphasis on Facebook, Instagram and Youtube. Thus, there will beproduction of scientific content for adequate dissemination to social media but in aconsistent and supervised way, bringing journalistic communication and scientificcontent closer together, especially in new therapeutic modalities for head and neck cancer