Dissecting the molecular interplay between tumor cells and stroma in primary live cancer (B08#)

• Subject Area: Pathology
• Term: from 2018 to 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 314905040

It remains elusive which alterations are driving the tumor phenotype or determine its biological behavior. Based on a stringent morphological evaluation we selected subgroups of human primary liver cancer showing either minimal or extensive tumor stroma and perform genome-wide exomic and transcriptomic profiling to narrow in on candidate genes potentially affecting the evolution of the tumor stroma and the phenotype of the tumor cells. These will be functionally validated and characterized using mosaic mouse models. This integrative approach will improve our knowledge on the tumor cell-stroma interaction and may help to identify patients that may especially benefit from therapeutic interventions targeting the tumor stroma.

• DFG Programme: CRC/Transregios
• Subproject of: TRR 209: Liver Cancer - New mechanistic and therapeutic concepts in a solid tumor model
• Applicant Institution: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg
• Project Heads: Professor Dr. Thomas Longerich; Dr. Rossella Pellegrino