15th FERO Fellowship – Dr. Bruno Sainz

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are of paramount importance for tumorigenicity, metastasis, and therapeutic resistance. The team behind this project has set three objectives: to identify the genes responsible for self-renewal and tumorigenesis in pancreatic CSCs; to validate candidate genes in in vivo and in vitro models; and to test the clinical relevance of altering key candidate genes (pharmacologically or genetically), in combination with other targets, in preclinical mouse models of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).

The study is being conducted using a sophisticated, focused, and targeted genetic approach to identify the set of key genes that determine the CSC state, in order to facilitate the development of personalised therapies against CSCs. The results are expected to have a truly significant socioeconomic impact, given that PDAC is the deadliest of all solid tumours and currently lacks effective treatments.