The European Institute of Oncology starts hospitalisation and treatment activities. The inauguration ceremony is attended by Italy’s most famous business leaders and scientists.

The Institute’s Scientific Committee is established, with some of the most eminent names in international oncology, including two Nobel prizewinners: Renato Dulbecco (Nobel prize in Medicine in 1975) and Michael J. Bishop (Nobel prize in Medicine in 1989).

Well ahead of the 1998 legislation, the Institute organises its own Ethics Committee, set up based on the most advanced criteria. From the very first clinical studies, the Ethics Committee safeguards the individual, approving how research is conducted for new treatment or diagnosis methods that directly involve the person.

The IEO becomes a coordination centre for the leading research underway in the field of oncology in Italy, particularly for breast cancer. Studies on drug prevention are a good example. This field develops studies to help define individual risk, as well as research into drugs such as tamoxifen that can prevent the onset of cancer.