The UAPO Foundation, in collaboration with UCAM, will soon open its new joint headquarters in the Region of Murcia, an initiative that seeks to provide free integrative oncology care to cancer patients in the community. The UAPO-UCAM facilities will join the network of UAPO centres in Spain and will stand out for its specific area of high-value exercise physiology, which will carry out research through the UCAM Chair of Exercise Physiology.

In addition, the centre will be a training space for future health professionals, reinforcing the UAPO-UCAM alliance's commitment to academic excellence and comprehensive care for cancer patients. This collaboration will also contribute to the generation of employment in the Region of Murcia and to the promotion of socio-economic development.

‘This agreement with UCAM not only multiplies our healthcare capacity, but also positions Murcia as a new benchmark in comprehensive care for cancer patients,’ says Javier Cánovas, general director of the UAPO Foundation. UAPO invites citizens, companies and institutions of the Region of Murcia to collaborate in this project through donations, sponsorships or their participation in solidarity events to strengthen the care of cancer patients.

Estrella Núñez, UCAM vice-rector of Research, emphasises that ‘with this alliance we are achieving a milestone: together with UAPO, we are going to create one of the largest research laboratories in the world at the service of patients. Our goal is to be a world-class centre that discovers and promotes improvements in physiology, advanced nutrition, psychology and physical exercise with the utmost rigour. This major step builds on and adds to the University's ongoing collaborations with the Spanish Association Against Cancer, the Aladina Foundation and Never Surrender, because for UCAM, excellence in research at these centres is a key priority’.

In the Region of Murcia, over 9,000 new cases of cancer are diagnosed each year, the most frequent being colorectal cancer, followed by prostate, breast and lung cancer. By 2040, it is estimated that there will be an 18% increase, exceeding 11,000 cases in the Region of Murcia and 340,000 in Spain, which underscores the importance of prevention and research.