HELIXAFE solution will contribute to “developing a strong and vibrant economic base”, one of the four main priorities of the strategic EU agenda 2019-2024. It will indeed actively contribute to the digital revolution in services and data management that the EU is promoting. The main goal is the shift from the current prevention of cancer death (cancer early detection) to cancer prevention (cancer driver interception). The result does not end at the technological level but extends to the methodological level because the success of prevention based on the monitoring of the physiological conditions drivers of cancer, emphasizes patient compliance by providing the ideal tools for an educational and behavioral approach, both for people who have come out of the cancer tunnel and for those who have never traveled it. The tools for monitoring physiological conditions are the best tool in the hands of the doctor to induce the patient, giving him tangible motivations, to a responsible attitude in the management of his lifestyle.
We have moved from genetic tests, based on the analysis of germline mutations that indicated the predisposition (NOT MODIFIABLE) to the development of the tumor, to the analysis of physiological conditions on a somatic basis (MODIFIABLE) that, if altered, can be drivers of cancer. All this will not lead to a simple reduction in the incidence of cancer and related death, but an extension of the quality of life of the individual and a reduction in health expenditure. The main UN Sustainable Goal addressed by our project is the Goal n° 3: good health and well-being. Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for nearly 10 million deaths in 2020. The matter is even more relevant in the context of an ageing population since the incidence of cancer rises dramatically with age.
In relation to this, according to a study from JRC, the number of people being diagnosed with cancer by 2040 in EU and EFTA countries is estimated to increase by 21% compared to 2020. The impact of cancer on the quality of life of patients and caregivers is devastating both from an economic and psychological point of view. Thanks to the wide adoption of our solution, people will take preventive action to avoid cancer onset starting from colorectal cancer, thus contributing to the drastic reduction of cancer cases throughout the globe.
