Vall d'Hebron participates in the EPICKids project on the role of the Mediterranean diet in pediatric cancer

The Pediatric Oncology and Hematology Service of Vall d'Hebron University Hospital and the research group in Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders of Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) will participate in a 5-year prospective nutritional research project on childhood cancer and its relationship with nutrition in Southern Europe. The study, led by Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), is 100% funded by the Aladina Foundation, the leading foundation in Spain supporting children and adolescents with cancer and their families.

EpicKids, The Role of the Mediterranean Diet in the Evolution of Pediatric Cancer

EpicKids aims to develop informative guidelines based on objective data and critical nutrition parameters to help medical teams describe the trajectory of nutritional status among Southern European children and adolescents with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and certain types of brain tumors.

During the 5-year study period, investigators will examine biological factors (microbiome/metabolome), lifestyle behaviors, sociodemographic factors and quality of life and correlate these indicators with clinical outcomes.

Data will be collected in three southern European countries (Spain, Greece and Italy) where trained staff will facilitate research objectives that adhere to standard operating procedures established by Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC), the International Initiative for Pediatrics and Nutrition (IIPAN), the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), and local scientific committees composed of pediatric oncology experts from participating hospitals.

The biobank, located in Lyon (France), will be provided by IARC. The corresponding clinical data will be managed in the IIPAN REDCap database and will be managed by the IIPAN research team in New York. Through a formalized process, investigators and collaborators will have access to the data with the goal of facilitating etiological and prognostic studies related to nutrition and childhood cancer.

The combination of clinical and biological data provided by the different participating organizations will open a new field for the creation of pilot data needed for future intervention studies.

EPIC Study, European Prospective Study on Diet, Cancer and Health

EPICKids is an unprecedented international choral work in the field of pediatric oncology. This study follows the Epic Report, in which 12 European countries participated and more than half a million people were studied by analyzing dietary patterns, different biochemical parameters and survival. The results of the comparison of dietary consumption among the 23 European centers were published in 2002 and showed a protective effect of fiber, fruit and vegetable consumption on colorectal cancer, a protective effect of fruit consumption on lung cancer, and of fruit and vegetables on the upper digestive tract, while it has been confirmed that high consumption of fruit and vegetables has no effect on prostate cancer.

In addition to Vall d'Hebron, the Columbia University Irving Medical Center and the International Agency for Research against Cancer (IARC) belonging to the World Health Organization (WHO) are participating in the study as research organizations, as well as the hospitals Niño Jesús and La Paz in Madrid, Sant Joan de Déu in Barcelona, Virgen del Rocío in Seville, the Italian Fondazione Monza e Brianza and Fondazione IRCCS and the Aghia Sofia Hospital in Athens.