Dr. Marco Inzitari, head of the Research in Aging, Frailty and Transitions in Barcelona group (REFiT BCN), has recently been awarded a grant for the study of cancer in the elderly, awarded by the Scientific Foundation of the Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC). The grant will go to the study entitled "Personalizing the approach to the Fragile Oncology patient through individualized Evaluation and Intervention (PROFIT Project)".In a few years, 50% of older people will have or will have had cancer. This will be a great challenge for the health system, since the patients will be people who will also suffer from other diseases, who will take a lot of medication and who, in many cases, will be fragile. This means that their organs will no longer function 100% and that their functionality will be limited. Therefore, these patients will need adapted care to their specific needs.This is one of the main objectives of the PROFIT project, which results from a collaboration between the Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), the Pere Virgili Health Park, the Navarra Hospital Complex and Navarrabiomed, the University Hospital of La Ribera in Alzira in Valencia, and the Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO).Dr. Inzitari is very grateful to the AECC Scientific Foundation for the help received. "In our country, it is very difficult to carry out research projects, since it is very difficult to support emerging teams as there are also few opportunities to foster talent, especially young people". "For this reason, I believe that the work that the association does is very important for society", adds the doctor.The PROFIT study is designed for older people with cancer, a figure that will gradually rise due to increased life expectancy and increased survival in cancer. "It is essential to give these patients adequate and valuable care, so we have to be able to choose what type of interventions these people will undergo, taking into account the level of fragility that each one of them presents".The project to which the AECC grant will go is divided into three phases. "The first of these phases is based on the comparison of three tools to measure the frailty of patients in the prediction of evolution. The second tries to implement an appropriate intervention for each person, based on a physical exercise program adapted to the patients and a nutritional component to help them better coexist with the disease, to tolerate new treatment cycles, etc.". Third, "we want to disseminate the importance of joint work between geriatrics and oncology", concludes Dr. Inzitari. Two researchers from the group, Carmina Castellano, a psychologist, and Laura Mónica Pérez, a geriatrician, coordinate the project.About the AECC Scientific FoundationThe AECC Scientific Foundation grants are possible thanks to the support of society, which is why they maintain the commitment to communicate all the projects that are carried out by the association. These grants cover the entire professional cycle of researchers, from students to leaders in the field of research.