The study of disease causes has intrigued generations of researchers, driven by the potential to discover new treatments or simply out of curiosity. Progress in understanding the biological mechanisms of various diseases has shaped different eras in public health, each closely linked to breakthroughs in understanding disease etiology and pathophysiology.

Clinical research is a complex and time-consuming process. It must face a multitude of variables and obstacles to achieve results that can really have a positive impact on patient healthcare and quality of life. This is particularly true for oncological research, for which two fundamental ingredients are necessary to make it successful: meaningful scientific questions and collaboration.

In 1975 the Société de Médecine Interne Cancérologique (SMIC) was created (1). Since the very beginning this society had an international scope as outlined in a letter to Silvio Monfardini by Maurice Schneider “In July 1975, Georges Mathé and I decided to sponsor every year a convention in the first week end of December in Nice.