Building mini-tumours in the lab to study bowel cancer
Cancer types:
Bowel cancer
Project period:
–
Research institute:
University Medical Center Utrecht
Award amount:
£194,081
Location:
Netherlands
Professor Paul Coffer aims to find out how normal cells of our immune system interact with cancer cells using mini-tumours grown in the lab.
Meet the scientist
Paul Coffer is Professor of Stem Cell Biology at UMC Utrect in the Netherlands. When not in the lab, Paul likes to hit the open road with his camera taking photos of beautiful locations. He is also on our Board of Trustees.
The science
Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in men and the second most common cancer in women with over 1.8 million new cases diagnosed each year. There are approximately 700,000 colorectal cancer deaths worldwide every year, making it one of the highest causes of cancer death.
Professor Paul Coffer at University Medical Center Utrecht, Netherlands, is growing miniature tumours, called organoids, in the lab to understand how colorectal tumours hijack the immune system and use it to resist the effects of treatment and spread around the body. A deep understanding of the molecular mechanisms behind this process will ultimately lead to novel treatment strategies for colorectal cancer.
Active Switzerland
Bowel cancer
Immunotherapy for cancer has huge potential but doesn’t always work, so this project hopes to find ways for it to cure more people with bowel cancer.
Researcher: Professor Alessandro Sartori
Developing bowel cancer immunotherapies that target DNA repair
Active Greece
Bowel cancer
This project hopes to reveal vital new ways to stop bowel cancer developing by better understanding how cancer cells and healthy cells interact.
Researcher: Dr Vasiliki Koliaraki
Understanding how colorectal tumours hijack healthy cells
Complete Spain
Bowel cancer
Sometimes cancer treatment stops working if cancers become resistant to therapy so this team hope to improve survival rates by exploring potential new drugs.
Researcher: Dr Maite Huarte
Identifying new therapeutic approaches for treatment-resistant bowel cancer