The research group focuses on Genomic Regulation for Precision Cancer Medicine with particular emphasis on prostate cancer, and it is part of the Prostate Cancer Research Centre (PCRC).
Keskeiset tehtävät ja tavoite
The optimal treatment for intermediate and high-risk prostate cancer (PC) patients is still unknown. Many patients with slow growing tumors would not require treatment but are overtreated because PSA screening is highly sensitive. The challenge in distinguishing these tumors lies in the unresolved complexity of the PC multifocality and tumor microenvironment.
Most studies assessing the extent of PC molecular heterogeneity and metastatic potential have characterised primary tumors focusing on DNA sequencing and genomic alterations using bulk methods. Biomarkers derived from these studies have not demonstrated clinically meaningful and superior predictive abilities compared to established clinico-pathological stratification systems. The research group will employ single cell technology and retrieve cell composition from bulk tissue gene expression data and prognostic and predictive gene signatures associated with aggressive vs non-lethal tumor behaviour.
Taavitsaienen et al., 2021: https://www.tuni.fi/en/news/persistent-populations-stem-cells-can-predict-prostate-cancer-treatment-response
Alfonso Urbanucci also leads a research group at the Institute for Cancer Research, within the Oslo University Hospital. https://www.ous-research.no/urbanucci/