Project description
Unexplored aspects of the microenvironment in colorectal cancer
The tumour microenvironment (TME) is an integral part of tumours, with a central role in disease progression and prognosis. The TME consists of connective tissue and various non-malignant cells including fibroblasts, immune cells and mesenchymal stem cells. The EU-funded PLASTICAN project is interested to understand how the plasticity of stromal cells influences progression and metastasis in colorectal cancer. Researchers will study the mechanisms underlying the crosstalk between tumour and stromal cells and delineate the role of distinct cell types. Apart from fundamental knowledge in cancer biology, results have the potential to lead to novel therapeutic strategies for colorectal cancer.
Objective
Colorectal cancer (CRC) belongs to the most frequent tumor entities in both men and women. Although early detection and certain therapies have improved, the prognosis for patients with metastatic diseases is dismal and survival rates are below 10% at 5 years after diagnosis. Colorectal carcinogenesis is greatly dependent on the plasticity of both tumor cells as well as surrounding stromal cells within the tumor microenvironment. Among the latter, both T cells as well as mesenchymal cells substantially contribute to the survival prognosis. Importantly, mesenchymal cells are very heterogenous and various subtypes have been recently described in other tumor entities. Most likely these subtypes rather represent different activation states and have the capacity to interconvert, however, their precise functional role is unknown. Thus, a detailed mechanistic understanding about the cancer-stromal cross-talk as well as the stromal plasticity in CRC, particularly during late tumor stages and the relevance for metastasis development is lacking. Here we aim to perform well-defined hypothesis driven approaches to characterize the plasticity of both tumor and stromal cells and to develop innovative tools that will allow the functional analysis of distinct cell types in the stroma of primary tumors as well as in the pre-metastatic niche in the liver. This will be complemented by unbiased in vivo screens to identify novel pathways involved in plasticity of tumor epithelia and hepatocytes contributing to metastasis formation. Collectively, the combination of these comprehensive approaches that are based on sophisticated novel in vivo models as well as functional analysis of patient samples will ultimately aid the development of novel therapeutic strategies for late-stage CRC patients.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
ERC-ADG - Advanced Grant
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2020-ADG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
60596 Frankfurt
Germany
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.