ByadminMeet our partner – Maria Skłodowska-Curie Institute of Oncology in Warsaw
While implementing its projects, the EUROMED Foundation cooperates with a number of leading Polish medical clinical centers ready to introduce modern methods and technologies for medical care to doctors from the eastern borders of Poland. One of these centers is the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Institute of Oncology in Warsaw.
The history of the institute is connected to the development of cancer treatment in Poland. Back in 1923, the Polish Anti-Cancer Committee was active in the country. The first cancer-monitoring program in Poland introduced by the Committee had three main goals: cancer research, health education, and cancer network development.
On December 24, 1923, the Committee addressed the Polish people to donate funds for the construction of an oncological institute, a gift from Marie Skłodowska-Curie, the pioneer of modern approaches to radiotherapy in oncology.
The Institute of Oncology in Warsaw was founded as the Radium Institute. The fundraised money allowed the Committee to begin construction at the end of 1925. Maria Skłodowska-Curie, the President of the Republic of Poland, and Stanisław Wojciechowski, the Ambassador of the French Republic, visited the groundbreaking ceremony along with Warsaw citizens.
On May 29, 1932, the opening ceremony of the Radium Institute in Warsaw took place. Maria Skłodowska-Curie donated to the Institute one gram of radium, the cost of which at that time was worth more than half a million zlotys.
During the Second World War, the institute burned down to the earth, but its reconstruction began in 1945, and it started working again in 1947. In 1950, the Department of Cancer Biology started on the basis of the Institute, followed by the Department of Medical Physics in 1951.
In 1952, the second cancer-monitoring program was adopted in Poland, covering the scientific, fundamental, and clinical research on epidemiology and cancer prevention, as well as the cancer network development. The Central Cancer Registry was established in that time.
The third cancer monitoring program in Poland was initiated and run by the Institute of Oncology in 1976-1990 and became the start of the cancer network.
Today, the National Institute of Oncology is the leading scientific and clinical center in Poland, which is engaged in cancer research and treatment. The clinic is located at 15 Wawielska Str., while the main building of the institute, a complex of several 10-story buildings, – at 5 Roentgena Str.
The Institute is under the Ministry of Health of Poland. The Institute has branches in Gliwice and Krakow. The wall plate on one of the walls of the Institute is lettered with “Marii Skłodowskiej Curie, w hołdzie” (“In honor of Maria Skłodowska-Curie”)
The following departments run scientific activity of the Institute:
- Molecular and Translational Oncology Department with the labs for translational research, molecular biology, and imaging of cancer cells, implementation, and testing of molecular methods;
- Cancer Biology Department with laboratories for tumor nature, tumor microenvironment, and tumor origin research;
- Genetics Department with labs for large-scale research of laboratory animal breeding;
- Scientific Department for scientific planning, documentation, information, granting, and cooperation;
- Experimental Immunotherapy Department with laboratories for experimental and clinical immunology, chromatin, and nanoantibodies research;
- Regenerative Medicine Department with laboratories for cell engineering, biology of stem cells and a bank of stem cells and tissues.
The medical care of the institute is provided by the following departments:
- oncological gastroenterology;
- oncological gynecology;
- head and neck cancer clinic;
- breast cancer and reconstructive surgery;
- lung and chest cancer clinic;
- tumors of soft tissues, bones and melanomas;
- clinic for cancer of the lymphatic system;
- cancer of the urinary system;
- clinic of neoplasms of the nervous system;
- oncological surgery and neuroendocrine tumors;
- oncology and radiation therapy;
- oncological diagnostics, cardiology and palliative medicine;
- oncological endocrinology and nuclear medicine;
- clinical department of anesthesiology and resuscitation.
The Maria Skłodowska-Curie Institute of Oncology introduces guidelines for the treatment of cancer and coordinates the implementation of the National Cancer Strategy.
How does the Institute work? It begins with basic research, where scientists are working on understanding the nature of the tumor and developing new preventive treatments.
Over the 90 years of its work, the institute has gained an extensive experience in the treatment of diverse oncological diseases. This knowledge is used in world science, as one of the priorities of the Institute is an international collaboration not only in the field of science but also in patient care, oncological treatment, and education. Active experience exchange with research institutions in the EU and the US allows the Institute to conduct innovative research, which future implementation in clinical practice.
The EUROMED Foundation introduces the following programs in collaboration with the Maria Skłodowska-Curie Institute of Oncology:
- Summer Polish hospital practice for students
- Trips on specialization
- Internships on specialization
The collaboration agreement between the EUROMED Foundation and the Institute of Oncology was signed in 2016. The Institute welcomes our doctors and shares its knowledge and experience with them.
