Passion and commitment
at the heart of an incredible project
ASC was created thanks to the passion and commitment of a pool of entrepreneurs who have been on the front line in the fight against cancer for years and who have embraced an idea that is now fully shared in medical-scientific circles: the best strategy for defeating cancer involves early diagnosis, when the disease is not yet showing symptoms.
ASC provides the public with technical and clinical experience, with cutting-edge technology, accumulated over years of research at the European Institute of Oncology in Milan, under the supervision of the same doctors, physicists, researchers and technicians who developed it.
ASC is an enterprise with a social vocation, whose mission is the promotion of a culture of prevention in the field of oncology: to this end, the company envisages that any profits will be reinvested to expand the offer with new equipment, seeking out the top technology on the market, as well as being able to offer more examinations.
Competence:
Experience:
Research:
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Competence:
Since 2017, the ASC centre of Castelli Calepio has decided to invest in a single mission: to propose Whole Body Diffusion to the population of "healthy" individuals. -
Experience:
ASC is the first Italian private centre to offer the Whole-Body Diffusion examination to an asymptomatic population, with an average of more than a thousand examinations conducted each year. ASC holds the largest number of tests performed compared to other diagnostic centres in Italy. -
Research:
The first signatory of the International Guidelines on DWB (ONCO-RADS) is an Italian radiologist, Giuseppe Petralia, who is Professor at the University of Milan and Director of the Precision Imaging Research Unit at the Institute of Oncology (IEO) in Milan and scientific advisor to ASC, Advanced Screening Centres.
The story of ASC ITALIA by President Piera Esposito
The ASC project arose from a newspaper article, which mentioned the IEO, the European Institute of Oncology, and the need for more resources for cancer research. It was the starting point from which the Mazza family embarked on a journey that culminated in the creation of the ASC Italia Centre, via the funding of research.
A story of social and entrepreneurial innovation..
How did the ASC project come about?
It arose from a newspaper article, which mentioned the IEO, the European Institute of Oncology, and the need for more resources for cancer research. We thought it was a good idea to provide some help, which would be more useful than other forms of charity. So, our family contacted the IEO and we agreed to fund some scholarships for young researchers.
And in this way you “discovered” the Whole-Body Diffusion …
Exactly. We saw that two of the researchers whose grants we were funding were trained to study the results of this new machine, which Veronesi had called a “magic box”. We enquired to find out what that “magic box” was and learned that it was used to detect tumours when they were still very small, so that they could be treated with a higher probability of success. We were also told that at the hospital DWB was mainly used to detect metastases or disease progression in patients already being treated. But doctors told us that the machine could also prove useful for prevention in healthy people, because the test did not involve the use of radiation or contrast media and therefore was risk-free. And this idea, of being able to take a “photograph” of the whole body that would reveal any changes in time, seemed fascinating to us.
And so you decided to buy another machine like that…
We decided to start this great project, involving other entrepreneurs in the area, like us, who are aware of the importance of early diagnosis. We decided to build a Diagnostic Centre that would take advantage of this amazing new technology and the experience gained over seven years by the IEO doctors and offer this cancer prevention opportunity to as many people as possible. We involved six other entrepreneurs from the area in the initiative and set up a company with nine shareholders. And so in two years ASC Italia was born, with an investment of five million euros. The Centre was founded with only one Magnetic Resonance device, but it had room for three. The second Magnetic Resonance device was installed this year, in 2022, and our goal is to keep going and add on a third device in the short term.
Does ASC, which is a private company made up of entrepreneurs, want to make a profit?
No, the operation is not for profit. We have established the company as an “innovative start-up”, because it has all the characteristics and because this corporate form allows access to European subsidised loans. In addition, the regulation of “innovative startups” allows any profits to be reinvested over the first four years, which is exactly what we would like to do. Today ASC is no longer an innovative start-up, but we have defined a regulation in the statute that makes this obligation permanent. In essence, once an economic equilibrium is reached, the company will reinvest the profits to expand the centre and try to reduce, if possible, the cost of the examination.
What will it cost?
From January 2023 it is €1,200. We know that it is a high price, which not everyone can afford. On the other hand, the cost of the equipment and those of management are really high. Anyone who has had a standard MRI in the private sector knows how much it costs. ASC reserves 10 per cent of the machine time for examinations at a, let’s say, “political” price, of €300, to be offered to less affluent persons (presenting an ISEE certification of €25,000 or less), for whom there will be a special waiting list. This share will also be financed from revenues. Over time, if we succeed, we will try to lower the price.
So does the initiative have a social vocation?
The social objective of promoting cancer prevention is paramount, but it will be implemented in an entrepreneurial spirit.
Wired Cover
It was one of Professor Umberto Veronesi’s most ambitious dreams. Having a diagnostic machine with an electronic eye capable of taking a detailed picture of the human body. A sort of “evolved Polaroid” capable of capturing our internal organs in one shot. With a specific objective: to detect a tumour at its inception.
Piera Esposito and Prof Giuseppe Petralia
Healthcare Personnel
The healthcare personnel at the ASC Centre carries out teamwork aimed at achieving excellence in the early diagnosis of cancers through the Whole-Body Diffusion examination. It is made up of:
Health Director, Head of the Centre according to current regulations. He is the guarantor of the leadership, supervision and quality of the facility and is responsible for the technical and functional organisation of the services, for which he establishes procedures and protocols.
Specialist radiologists at the European Institute of Oncology (IEO Milan) who contributed to the development of DWB and have been using it in routine clinical practice for many years, and who are responsible for the clinical supervision of all examinations and their reports.
Radiologists , who are always present at the centre, who assist patients at every stage of the examination. The radiologist is responsible for evaluating all aspects related to safety, information and collecting the history of Patients.
Medical radiology health technicians, specifically trained for the acquisition of images using the Whole-Body Diffusion. They are in charge of welcoming patients, positioning them on the bed of the MR device and running the examination. The technicians interact with patients during the examination, in constant audio and visual contact with them.
Scientific
Committee
The Scientific Committee has advisory and support functions for clinical-scientific activity. At staff meetings with the Directorate of the Centre, it carries out activities aimed at disseminating the results achieved in scientific research and scientific-social promotion activities. The Committee is entrusted with the task of examining research projects, indicating guidelines and promoting exchanges with other national and international institutions. The Scientific Committee of ASC is constituted as follows:
Anwar R. Padhani
Giuseppe Petralia
Massimo Bellomi
Antonio Curnis
Ethics
Committee
The Ethics Committee aims to assess the ethical and scientific aspects of clinical trials in order to ensure the protection of the rights, safety and well-being of all persons involved; it also organises periodic meetings with doctors and is responsible for promoting an interdisciplinary dialogue for the ethical and scientific evaluation of medical protocols and the practice of the Diagnostic Centre, expressing assessments and opinions. These are the members:
Evelino Barcella
Gianpaolo Sala
Mons. Pierino Sacella
