Highlights

• The directors of the new unit are Josep Balselga, the driving force behind the initiative, and Dr. Tabernero, the new Head of the Oncology Service at VHUH.  From September 2010, Dr Baselga will combine managing the scientific strategy of  Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO) with his new appointment at the Hematology & Medical Oncology Division at the Cancer Center of the Massachusetts General Hospital at Harvard Medical School in Boston.
• The scientific activities of the UITM-“la Caixa” focuses on the design and search for new strategies for cancer treatment using clinical trials for new anti-tumor therapies.
• In 2009, 131 clinical trials were initiated at the VHUH by the Division of Oncology and 572 patients were included in such studies. No other hospital in Spain has ever reached similar figures in oncology research.