Project description
Mechanical regulation of cancer
Cells interact with their environment and respond to mechanical cues and physical forces. Cellular structures like the cytoskeleton and the cell membrane contribute to the mechanical properties of cells, determining their stiffness, elasticity, and ability to deform or withstand external forces. Funded by the European Research Council, the MechanoGAP project aims to investigate the role of physical forces in tumour growth and resistance to anti-cancer drugs. The research will explore how mechanical forces impede cell division, limit drug penetration, and investigate methods to enhance drug delivery. Patient-specific models will help predict tumour behaviour and drug resistance.
Objective
Personalised cancer medicine presents an exciting frontier in healthcare that tailors disease mitigation and intervention to an individual patient. However, existing technologies fail to leverage the physical forces that underpin stress-dependent tumour growth and the subsequent evolution of biomechanical resistance to anti-cancer drugs. Furthermore, the fundamental mechanisms governing such force-sensitivity have yet to be uncovered; this deficiency in scientific understanding of the active biomechanical behaviour of tumours and control of drug penetration has hindered the progression of anti-cancer therapy.
In this project, an advanced computational modelling framework will first be developed to uncover the mechanisms underlying stress-dependent cell and tissue growth, coupling the thermodynamics of cellular volume control with active force generation and intracellular transport. Novel experimental analysis of 3D tumour spheroid growth and single cell biomechanics will reinforce the framework to gain a new understanding of how mechanical loading can prevent tumour cell division and the role of intracellular exchange in multi-cellular growth control. The models will then be extended to determine the role of growth-induced stress and cell compaction in restricting drug penetration, and whether this can be mitigated by promoting intracellular drug perfusion. Finally, integrated patient-derived computational and tumour organoid models will be developed for prediction of growth and emergent biomechanical resistance to anti-cancer drugs, motivating model-led mechanobiological therapy in an animal model of breast cancer.
The overarching objective of this ground-breaking project is to pioneer a personalised healthcare framework for prediction of mechanically-regulated cancer and treatment outcomes, with remarkable potential to drive a paradigm shift in patient-specific diagnosis and treatment of cancer.
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.
- natural sciences physical sciences thermodynamics
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine oncology
- natural sciences biological sciences biophysics
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
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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HORIZON.1.1 - 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.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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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-2023-STG
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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.
H91 Galway
Ireland
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.