Today, the third Let’s Turn the Page! was presented at the Tàpies Foundation, a charity event that aims to raise money for cancer research by promoting reading. The organizations behind this initiative are the Booksellers Guild of Catalonia, the Collserola Foundation and the Hospital Clínic Barcelona-IDIBAPS.
The presentation was attended by Ms Núria Vilamajó, head of patronage at the Campus Clínic; Ms Olga Federico, promoter of the Let’s Turn the Page! project, owner of the La Impossible Bookshop and patient at the Clínic; Mr Eric del Arco, president of the Booksellers Guild of Catalonia; Ms Marian Linàs, director of the Frederic Mistral – Tècnic Eulàlia school; and Dr Aleix Prat, director of the Clínic Barcelona Comprehensive Cancer Center.
The aim of the third Let’s Turn the Page! event is to reach 2,000 hours of cancer research, which will be turned into €240,000 to boost research at the Clínic-IDIBAPS. These hours will be achieved thanks to reading; for every book read, for every review received, 10 minutes of research; for every six, one hour. The 2025 campaign will begin on 21 March, World Poetry Day, and end on 23 April, Saint George’s Day.
How can the 2,000 hours be achieved?
Taking part is very simple and the activity is open to everyone: between 21 March and 23 April, you can collect bookmarks from participating bookshops and write reviews on them. These bookmarks can be returned to the same bookshop, or deposited in the mailboxes installed at the different entrances to the Hospital Clínic Barcelona. You can check the location on the map on the Girem Full! (Let’s Turn the Page!) website. Reviews can also be sent in digitally via this link.
“We are addressing a wide and diverse range of people. Members of the school community, book lovers, health professionals, businesses, private individuals and just anyone interested in doing their bit to fight cancer”, explained Eric del Arco, president of the Booksellers Guild of Catalonia.
All the reviews collected will be turned into hours of cancer research. In this way, thanks to the sponsors who contribute to the financing of the project, each book read is turned into €20 for cancer research at the Clínic-IDIBAPS.
What will the money raised be used for?
The money raised thanks to this campaign will be used to promote research into immunotherapy at the Clínic-IDIBAPS, a leading centre for health and biomedical research. With 25 research groups, this centre works to tackle the great challenges of oncology, from the development of new treatments and diagnostic techniques to the understanding of the biological mechanisms of cancer.
This funding allows for progress to be made in innovative, more efficient, less invasive techniques, with the aim of improving both the quality of life of patients and their treatment options.
Two examples of new immunotherapy strategies based on immune system cells are:
Therapy with CAR T-cells: At the Clínic-IDIBAPS treatments have been developed with CAR T-cells for different types of cancer:
- ARI-0001 for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and ARI-0002h, for multiple myeloma, which have already been approved by the Spanish Agency of Medicines and Medical Devices (AEMPS).
- ARI-HER2 for HER2-positive breast cancer: A new treatment that will begin to be assessed in patients soon.
Moreover, research is being carried out into the development of similar therapies to treat advanced tumours such as stomach cancer, prostate cancer, and brain tumours.
Therapy with TILs: A clinical trial has been launched with tumour infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) to treat patients with triple-negative metastatic breast cancer, a variant that is particularly difficult to treat. Projects are also being started to apply this strategy in melanoma, with the aim of offering new treatment options to patients without effective alternatives.
Aleix Prat, director of the Clínic Barcelona Comprehensive Cancer Center, pointed out that: “The collaboration between our centre, society and strategic partners is key to promoting innovation in the field of personalized immunotherapy. Together, we are building a future in which these advances will become a transformative reality in the treatment of cancer”.
The challenges of Let’s Turn the Page!
Let’s Turn the Page! encourages reading, by incentivizing community participation and promoting values such as solidarity, collaboration and commitment to scientific research. The main challenges are:
- To promote reading as a tool for social transformation, encouraging community participation and promoting values such as solidarity and collaboration, with special emphasis on the youngest members of society.
- To raise money for cancer immunotherapy research, providing a simple way to do so and accessible for the community.
- To consolidate the Campus Clínic Barcelona as a benchmark in cancer research and as a key ally for those who want to contribute to the fight against cancer.
This is how Let’s Turn the Page! was created
Let’s Turn the Page! was created five years ago following a conversation between Olga Federico and Mireia Perelló from the La Impossible bookshop, and Dr Maria Vidal and Núria Vilamajó from the Hospital Clínic Barcelona. With this new project, they wanted to combined reading and solidarity in order to support research.
Olga Federico’s motivation came from her own experience with breast cancer. After overcoming the illness, she felt the need to contribute to the fight against cancer and support other people going through the same situation.
From then until today, the three driving forces behind the project, the Booksellers Guild of Catalonia, the Collserola Foundation and the Hospital Clínic Barcelona-IDIBAPS, with a deep commitment to the health and well-being of the community, have worked together to create a positive impact on society.
The aim is to organize and consolidate this charitable activity year after year with the intention of increasing the number of participants and creating a community that comes together through reading, research and solidarity.
In the last Let’s Turn the Page! event, more than 30 schools and almost 60 bookshops took part and an extraordinary figure was achieved: 6,435 book reviews, 1,073 hours of research, that is €128,700 allocated to cancer research. Readers of all ages took part, from 1 year old to 99 years old. A total of 73% of the participants were under 15 years old, highlighting the significant involvement of young people.
