Descripción del proyecto
¿Inducen la biopsia y la cirugía la metástasis del cáncer?
El diagnóstico y el tratamiento del cáncer a menudo implican una biopsia o la extirpación quirúrgica del tumor primario, lo que da lugar a una lesión tisular. La metástasis, la principal causa de muertes relacionadas con el cáncer, a menudo es iniciada por células individuales que llegan al torrente sanguíneo desde el tumor primario. Este proyecto financiado con fondos europeos investigará si las lesiones tisulares iniciales contribuyen de manera significativa a la diseminación hemática de las células tumorales, dando como resultado la metástasis del cáncer. La investigación se centrará en el cáncer de mama y de próstata. Investigará el impacto de la liberación de células cancerosas circulantes tras una biopsia o una intervención quirúrgica, y aplicará tecnologías novedosas para capturar células circulantes para su análisis funcional. Por otra parte, evaluará estrategias terapéuticas para prevenir la diseminación a distancia de células cancerosas viables.
Objetivo
Background: Blood-borne metastasis of malignant cells from the primary lesion to distant organs is the major cause of cancer-related death. Most cancer patients face tissue injury at initial diagnosis when tumor tissue is obtained by biopsies to secure the diagnosis of cancer and at primary surgery required to remove the primary tumor.
Objectives: We will evaluate whether tissue injury contributes to a significant blood-borne dissemination of viable tumor cells, which is one of the most under-investigated areas in cancer research. We will focus on the two most frequent malignancies in women (breast cancer) and men (prostate cancer) that occur in the in European Union with incidence rates of 139.5 and 139.0 cases per 100,000, respectively. The current project will study the extent of the release of tumor cells into the blood circulation after needle tissue biopsies and primary surgery, the characteristics of the released tumor cells and the contribution of this release to cancer progression. Moreover, we will assess therapeutic strategies to block extravasation of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) to distant sites. As experimental approach, we will apply novel technologies for capturing CTCs and for determining their molecular characteristics in cancer patients as well as experimental models that are able to determine the functional properties of CTCs.
Impact: The results will have an important impact on medical practice. If biopsies would contribute to tumor progression, it might be a strong driving force for the development of better imaging modalities or “liquid biopsy” assays of peripheral blood that can diagnose cancer through the detection of CTCs or tumor cell products such as circulating nucleic acids (DNA, microRNA), exosomes or tumor-educated platelets. Moreover, short-term pharmacologic inhibition of extravasation might be able to prevent the extravasation of injury-released CTCs and reduce the risk of metastasis.
Ámbito científico
- medical and health sciencesclinical medicineoncologyprostate cancer
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbiochemistrybiomoleculesnucleic acids
- medical and health sciencesclinical medicinesurgery
- natural sciencesbiological sciencescell biology
- medical and health sciencesclinical medicineoncologybreast cancer
Palabras clave
Programa(s)
Régimen de financiación
ERC-ADG - Advanced GrantInstitución de acogida
20251 Hamburg
Alemania