SP6 represents an innovative project treatment which explores resistance and adaptation in advanced rectal cancer and seeks to tailor novel therapy paths!

For advanced rectal cancer, conventional therapy involves neoadjuvant combined chemoradiotherapy (CRT) and surgery. Unfortunately, resistance to this treatment is a relevant clinical problem, leading to an adverse prognosis for patients. In light of this significant clinical challenge, our project has set its aim to understand and overcome CRT adaptation. We propose that early adaptation to CRT presents a unique opportunity - unearthing previously hidden vulnerabilities that could potentially be targeted by novel therapeutic strategies. Leveraging our extensive biobank of primary patient-derived rectal cancer samples, including organoid models, we are dedicated to decrypting CRT adaptation.

PhD- and MD- candidates involved in SP6 will harness various cutting-edge methods and technologies. The PhD-candidate of the first cohort (Schneider group) will employ NGS technologies in patient-derived rectal cancer models to explore the intricate landscape of transcriptional plasticity in rectal cancer. The MD-candidate of the first cohort (Grade group) will validate findings in patient-derived rectal cancer samples utilizing cutting-edge technologies like multiplex imaging. The second cohort of doctoral candidates will carry out unbiased genetic (PhD-candidate, Grade lab) and drug (MD-candidate, Schneider group) screening approaches to elucidate early adaptive processes. All of these efforts are focused on our primary goal - architecting a translation strategy for therapy-resistant rectal cancer.