Proton beam therapy is increasingly applied in cancer treatment, as it promises to reduce normal tissue damage at critical radiosensitive structures. However, some recent reports point to a potential biological effect of the increased LET of protons at the distal edge of the spread-out Bragg peak (SOBP) in tumor models and normal tissue damage models in vitro and in vivo. So far, potential diffe

The cancer cell adhesome connects the cell with both the surrounding extracellular matrix (ECM) and the cell membrane with the cytoplasmic and nuclear matrix. It is well accepted that the cancer cell adhesome fundamentally impacts on the response to anticancer therapies. Our preliminary data outlines that growth in three-dimensional ECM and ECM stiffness are key determinants for DNA repair efficac

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most aggressive adult primary brain tumor and remains incurable. At present, there is still a large knowledge gap and lack of clinically relevant models to identify the molecular and cellular mechanisms that drive intrinsic and -de novo- treatment resistance in GBM. The aim of this project is to establish GBM organoid models expressing genetically encoded fluorescent trac

The efficacy of radiotherapy is limited by the adverse effects caused by damage to healthy tissues adjacent to the tumor. Tumor radiosensitivity is determined by intrinsic sensitivity, the inherent sensitivity of the tumor cells, and extrinsic sensitivity, resistance to killing that is imparted through the tumor environment. One key factor determining extrinsic radiosensitivity is tumor hypoxia. A

Although radiotherapy is used in more than half of cancer treatments, the effect of ionizing radiation on a differential metabolism in tumor and healthy cells is not well understood. The aim of this project is to collect quantitative data on the energy metabolism of healthy and tumor brain cells using recently developed fluorescent biosensors which allow measuring metabolic parameters in vivo and

Breast cancer is the first type of cancer in women worldwide, and Europe has the highest rate of diagnosis. Chemoradiotherapy associated with surgery is part of standard breast cancer clinical care, but tumors can relapse, often because cancer cells acquire intrinsic chemoradioresistance. Our project aims to test the possibility that metabolic alterations are responsible for the acquired radioresi