The Institute of Candiolo (Turin) is a private oncology center. It is the only Scientific Institute for Research, Hospitalization and Healthcare in Piedmont recognized by the Ministry of Health with evidence of critical discoveries published in the most prestigious international scientific journals.

It is part of the oncological network of Piedmont and Aosta Valley, and its services are provided in agreement with the National Health Service.

It began its activity in 1996, gradually enriching spaces and services. Today, it covers 56,500 square meters, of which 47,962 square meters are devoted to the clinic and 8,538 square meters to research. It belongs to the Foundation Piemontese for the research on Cancer Onlus (FPRC), which built and financed it exclusively with the support and generosity of over 300 thousand donors, companies, and private institutions. The Piedmont Foundation provides the services for Oncology (FPO), a private non-profit organization founded by the Piedmont Region and by the FPRC itself, which carries out its services using the spaces and technological and instrumental equipment made available by the FPRC.

More than five hundred people work at the Institute of Candiolo, including physicians, researchers, nurses, and technicians.

CLINICAL ACTIVITY

IRCCS Candiolo is a regional reference center for nine types of tumours: breast, gynecological, colon-rectal, stomach, otorhinolaryngological, urological, sarcoma, skin and oncohaematological tumours. It is also a regional single-specialty reference center for oncological pain therapy.

The Institute performs innovative surgical activities, such as “Pipac” (a technique used in peritoneal carcinosis), electroporation (which uses an electric field to destroy neoplastic tissue while avoiding any damage in surrounding tissues), and laser surgery in the otolaryngological area. Candiolo is also a high technology for diagnosis (2 CT, 1 PET, 1 MRI) and treatment (2 tomotherapy and one linear accelerator, unique in Italy). The Laboratory of Analysis is the only facility in Piedmont to perform serum blood tests for ProPsa antigen, specific for prostate cancer.

RESEARCH ACTIVITY

Scientific activity is performed together with the Department of the School of Medicine of the University of Turin. In the laboratories of Candiolo, 250 researchers divided into 32 groups focus on developing strategies for prevention, early diagnostic, and cancer treatment.

Among the most famous results, together with other research centers we developed a liquid biopsy test that identifies tumour genetic-molecular profile, starting from a blood sample.  Moreover, the fine-tuning of the 4-year Heracles program has led to the definition of a new non-toxic molecular target therapy to fight some forms of metastatic colon cancer that have become resistant to standard treatments. Candiolo is at the forefront of studies on precision and personalized oncology, inaugurating a new series of clinical trials, exploiting the properties of so-called smart drugs.