Pink October: the AIRC foundation's campaign came back
01.10.2025
In October 2025, the AIRC Foundation is launching the Pink Ribbon Campaign with the symbol of the incomplete ribbon, representing the yet-to-be-achieved goal of curing all forms of breast cancer, including the most aggressive ones. Thanks to advances in research, the five-year survival rate has risen to 88%, but every year in Italy there are still about 53,000 new diagnoses and one in eight women falls ill, while there remains a 12% of patients for whom there are still no effective therapies, particularly in cases of triple-negative and metastatic breast cancer affecting about 37,000 women.
To tackle these challenges, AIRC is investing 14 million euros in projects and scholarships in 2025, continuing a commitment that over 60 years has helped revolutionize breast cancer treatment, from trastuzumab to targeted therapies, to immunotherapy and immuno-conjugated antibodies.
As Anna Mondino, scientific director of the AIRC Foundation, explains, "Significant results have been achieved for the treatment of breast cancer: until almost thirty years ago, besides surgery, we could only resort to chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and hormonal therapies. Then in 1998, trastuzumab arrived, the first monoclonal antibody against a solid tumor. It is one of the drugs that has most revolutionized breast cancer treatment, particularly for HER2-positive cases, previously difficult to treat. Subsequently, researchers identified other molecular characteristics in specific groups of patients and types of cancer, developing targeted therapies capable of blocking the growth of cancer cells. Today, thanks to studies that took a few decades, we also have immunotherapy, a new frontier that is changing the history of this cancer when it is in the early stages. For advanced forms, immuno-conjugated antibodies can be used: drugs that have profoundly modified treatment protocols, offering significant survival benefits."
The campaign also emphasizes the importance of early diagnosis and prevention through healthy lifestyles, reminding that in Italy only 75% of women aged 50 to 69 undergo mammography, with significant differences between Northern and Southern Italy, and that factors such as physical inactivity, smoking, and alcohol consumption increase the risk of developing the disease.
To support research and raise awareness, people can wear the pin with the incomplete ribbon, distributed in pharmacies and participating stores, thanks to the "Together for Prevention" project and the support of numerous corporate and institutional partners, including The Estée Lauder Companies Italia as the main partner, along with organizations like Acqua Vitasnella, AICG, ALDI, ANCI, Cassa Centrale Banca, Chiquita, Coccinelle, Dr. Max, Magazzini Gabrielli, Marcolin, Veepee, and other distribution networks.
AIRC, which since 1965 has invested 2.5 billion euros supporting over 5,000 researchers in 96 Italian institutes and promoting a culture of prevention thanks to 4.5 million supporters and 20,000 volunteers, invites everyone to participate and get informed at airc.it.
