The Elena Torres Association for Research for the Early Detection of Cancer is celebrating its tenth anniversary, a period in which it has raised one million euros entirely for the project led by CSIC researcher Priscila Monteiro Kosaka, focused on the development of a pioneering technology to detect cancer in its early stages by means of a simple blood test.
Since 2015, this Ibizan entity, declared of General Interest by the Balearic Government, has been funding research that has evolved from an experimental idea to become a technological platform capable of analyzing multiple biomarkers and advancing towards the ultra-early detection of the disease.
According to the president of the association, Mari Carmen Gutiérrez, the organization was created after the death of her daughter Elena from cancer, with the aim of transforming her legacy into help for other people. From the beginning, the association was committed to prevention and research in early detection, differentiating itself from other charitable organizations. The project also arose with the aim of supporting young researchers whose work was in danger due to lack of funding.
For her part, Priscila Monteiro Kosaka emphasizes that the support of the Elena Torres Association has been key to giving continuity to her research at a particularly difficult time, allowing her to move forward with stability and time to develop a technology with real clinical impact potential.
Ten years transforming an idea into real technology
During this decade, the CSIC research team has managed to optimize the sensor that forms the core of the detection, making it more stable, uniform and sensitive; increase the analysis capacity to process 48 samples in parallel; and develop specific biosensors for breast and lung cancer biomarkers, validated both in the laboratory and in real samples from patients at Hospital 12 de Octubre.
In addition, research is progressing towards detection at the single cell level, one of the great challenges of oncology, through the study of biophysical biomarkers and technologies such as digital holography. All this consolidates an increasingly precise, automated tool with the potential to improve early diagnosis and save lives.
New projects
Coinciding with this tenth anniversary, the Elena Torres Association announces that from 2026 it will open a new line of funding for research projects in early detection of cancer in the Balearic Islands.
It will also maintain a minimum annual contribution of 50,000 euros to ensure the continuity of the project led by Monteiro Kosaka, which is at an advanced stage of development.
Gutiérrez stresses that these ten years demonstrate the capacity of the Ibizan society to promote cutting-edge science and reaffirms the commitment of the entity to continue supporting researchers of the archipelago and generating real impact.
A decade of gratitude
The association emphasizes that the project has been possible thanks to the involvement of the entire island of Ibiza and thanks the support of companies, organizations, volunteers and individuals who have collaborated during these ten years through solidarity actions, campaigns and donations.
Numerous well-known faces from the fields of communication, music, acting, fashion and gastronomy have collaborated with the Elena Torres Association, as well as the designer Ágata Ruiz de la Prada, author of the solidarity T-shirt. The solidarity book 12 Vidas, by Eva Ballarín and Alicia Reina, also raises funds for the organization.
The Elena Torres Association also has a solidarity store in Ibiza and online, where you can buy solidarity T-shirts and other garments, many of them donated by fashion brands.
