• The Carmen Delgado/Miguel Pérez-Mateo Fellowships are the largest privately funded pancreatic cancer research program in Spain.

Jesús María Urman Fernández, Head of the Biliopancreatic Pathology Section at the University Hospital of Navarra (HUN) and researcher at Navarrabiomed, has been awarded one of the two grants granted in the 11th edition of the Carmen Delgado/Miguel Pérez-Mateo Fellowships, considered the largest private funding program for pancreatic cancer research in Spain. The Clinical Research Fellowship, worth €120,000, will support a research project focused on developing an innovative tool to improve the detection of molecular alterations in pancreatic cancer patients through the analysis of tumor DNA present in bile.

The fellowships are promoted by the Pancreatic Cancer Association (ACANPAN), the Spanish Pancreatology Association (AESPANC), and the Spanish Gastroenterology Association (AEG). They are funded primarily through resources raised by the Run of the Cities Against Pancreatic Cancer initiative.

The project led by Urman aims to identify molecular alterations through a liquid biopsy performed on bile samples. This strategy could increase the detection of actionable mutations and facilitate patients’ access to targeted therapies, thereby supporting a more personalized and precise approach to treatment.

“This fellowship represents a major boost to the multidisciplinary work we carry out at the University Hospital of Navarra in collaboration with Navarrabiomed and with the participation of professionals from Cima. Our goal is to implement a non-invasive procedure that allows us to identify more molecular alterations and facilitate patients’ access to targeted treatments. In addition, this procedure would eliminate the need to obtain histological samples and would not entail additional risks for patients,” emphasized Urman.

In addition to the grant awarded to Jesús Urman, the program’s Basic Research Fellowship, also worth €120,000, was awarded to Juan Dubrot Armendáriz, Principal Investigator of the Tumor Evasion and New Targets Group at Cima University of Navarra.

Twenty Projects Funded Since 2015

Since their creation, the Carmen Delgado/Miguel Pérez-Mateo Fellowships have allocated €1,461,000 to fund 20 high-level scientific research projects related to pancreatic cancer. The primary source of funding is the Run of the Cities Against Pancreatic Cancer, a charitable initiative launched in 2015 with the aim of raising funds for research into a disease that continues to present significant unmet medical needs.

According to current estimates, more than 10,400 people will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in Spain during 2026. With a five-year survival rate of less than 10% and a steadily increasing incidence, research remains the key pathway toward earlier diagnosis and the development of new treatments.