The European Institute of Oncology is a not-for-profit organization involved in cancer research, training and treatment of oncological pathologies. It was created in Milan by Professor Umberto Veronesi in 1994. It has become an internationally renowned center of excellence for the diagnosis and treatment of all types of cancer. Fondazione Zegna decided to support the fight against lung cancer, a terrible disease that’s still one of the “big killers” despite medical and scientific progress. As with many other types of tumor, early diagnosis and immediate treatment allow patients to hope in a full recovery. But the methods of diagnosis for lung cancer are particularly invasive and are often carried out when the symptoms already show the disease is in an advanced state. Research into faster and non-invasive methods of diagnosis was conducted for the molecular cytogenetic laboratory of the European Institute of Oncology by Dr Carla Lintas, a biologist. The Zegna Foundation financed Dr. Lintas with a two year scholarship (2002 and 2003) enabling her to contribute to the research effort of the European Institute of Oncology.
