Project description
Evolution of childhood sarcoma
Although cancer in children is rare, the spectrum of cancers reflects the way children’s bodies change at the cellular level. The EU-funded CAtS project will focus on bone and soft tissue cancers (sarcomas), which represent nearly 21 % of cancers in children. Using single-cell RNA sequencing, scientists will analyse childhood and adult sarcomas and compare results with corresponding normal tissue. This will provide insight into cancer cell biology and the transcriptional alterations responsible for malignant transformation in children compared to adults. The generated map of mutations and expression profiles of normal bone and cartilaginous tissue will serve as the basis for future research on the clonal evolution of sarcoma.
Objective
Each year more than 35,000 European children and young people are diagnosed with cancer. Childhood cancer remains a major public health and socioeconomic issue in Europe and around the world. Cancer arises when a single cell transforms and divides uncontrollably, resulting in a malignant mass of tumour cells. To study cancer, we must understand how these normal cells change. Our current understanding of how normal cells vary across the many tissues of our body is poorly understood. Child development represents a unique challenge in understanding our cells, as children’s bodies change at a cellular level entirely different than adults. This is reflected in the spectrum of cancers diagnosed in children compared to adults, particularly in bone and soft tissue cancers (sarcomas) where they present in less than 1% of adults' cancers and nearly 21% of children's cancers.
With the advent of high-throughput single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq), it is now possible to analyze cell populations at remarkable scale and resolution. The primary purpose of this project is to use scRNA-seq to reconstruct the phylogenetic cellular lineage of childhood and adult sarcomas, and corresponding normal tissue. This fellowship aims to (1) discover and define differences between normal and cancer cell biology at single-cell resolution and (2) use machine learning to determine the cell type (cell-of-origin), the somatic changes and transcriptional trajectories of normal cells that lead to malignant transformation in children compared to adults.
This project represents the highest resolution map of the intratumour genetic heterogeneity and clonal evolution of sarcoma ever produced. Another outcome of this project will be a reference map of all of the somatic mutations and expression profiles of normal bone and cartilaginous tissue. This will be a pivotal resource for the global research community - the ‘Bone’ and ‘Cartilage’ branches of the ‘Developmental Human Cell Atlas’.
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.
- medical and health sciences health sciences public health
- natural sciences biological sciences cell biology
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine oncology
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics RNA
- natural sciences computer and information sciences artificial intelligence machine learning
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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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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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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.
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)
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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) H2020-MSCA-IF-2019
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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.
CB10 1SA SAFFRON WALDEN
United Kingdom
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.