KOTK Next-generation multiplex pathology - Next-generation multiplex pathology: enabling precision medicine by improving cancer diagnostics and biomarker identification
From 01-09-2020 to 31-08-2024
Description
Providing the right therapy to each cancer patient heavily relies on an interdisciplinary interaction between surgeons, oncologists and pathologists. While not readily visible to patients, pathological assessments - commonly a combination of microscopic, immunohistochemical and genetic/molecular analyses of resected tissues and biopsies – remain essential to determine the correct diagnosis, a feature that largely defines the prognosis and success of the therapeutic plan. While next-generation sequencing procedures to identify genetic aberrations have witnessed an enormousrevolution over the last decade, current standard pathological methods are significantly lagging behind to cope with theincreasing numbers of putative biomarkers that could lead to more precise diagnostics and better therapy selections.
Recently, this consortium has implemented a novel platform for multiplex immunohistochemistry (MILAN method) which allows for the analysis of multiple (50-100) proteins and biomarkers in single tissue sections at single cell level. In this project, we now want to analyse ~2500 previously and newly annotated tumor samples at single-cell and spatial resolution across 9 cancer types (i.e. melanoma, renal cancer, head & neck cancer, colorectal cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer, adult and paediatric glioma, liver cancer and lymphoma) from patients that were/are treated at UZLeuven,
with the aim of identifying putative biomarkers for immunotherapy and improving cancer diagnostics. For each cancer type, we will optimize disease-tailored multiplex panels to detect known and novel markers (>50 proteins), allowing us to spatially resolve the cellular and genetic composition of a tumor and its microenvironment, data that will also be correlated to clinical features such as responsiveness to therapy. As such, we will generate one of the most detailed pathological cancer atlases accessible to clinicians and researchers.
This multiplex approach was recently proven particularly important in the context of immunotherapy (e.g. checkpoint inhibitors) for which tumor tissue samples of patients responsive to immune-checkpoint inhibition contained a different spectrum of inflammatory cells within and around the tumor, features that could only be measured using multiplexed immunohistochemistry in the spatial context of the tissue.
Since MILAN produces enormous amounts of data (“big data”), a close collaboration with STADIUS (Engineering dept., KULeuven) will ensure proper data analysis and management. In conclusion, by performing next-generation pathology using the MILAN platform, we will greatly enhance biological insights required for therapy selections, most specifically for patients receiving immunomodulatory therapies. This consortium harbours all required expertise to translate this technology and insights to a clinical setting, emphasizing that patients will get access to the most advanced cancer
diagnostics as soon as possible.
Team
- Bart De Moor, Co-promoter
- Frederik De Smet, Coordinator (External)
- Tina Smets, Team member
Financing
Funding: OTHER - Other Funding Agencies
Program/Grant Type: Other - Other
Events
2/09/2024:
PhD defense - Martijn Oldenhof
Machine Learning for Advanced Chemical Analysis and Structure Recognition in Drug Discovery
3/09/2024:
Meet the Jury Igor Tetko on Advanced Machine Learning in Drug Discovery
12/09/2024:
Multimodal analysis of cell-free DNA for sensitive cancer detection in low-coverage and low-sample settings
Seminar by Antoine Passemiers
News
STADIUS Alumni Herman Verrelst – new CEO of Biocartis
08 June 2017
Herman Verrelst, the founder of KU Leuven spin-off Cartagenia, who has been working in Silicon Valley, US for the last few years will be returning to Belgium to follow the steps of Rudi Pauwels as CEO of the Belgian diagnostic company, Biocartis.
Supporting healthcare policymaking via machine learning – batteries included!
29 May 2017
STADIUS takes the lead in the data analytics efforts in an ambitious European Project MIDAS.
Marc Claesen gives an interview about his PhD for the magazine of the Faculty of Engineering Sciences "Geniaal"
10 February 2017
Did you know that in Belgium approximately one third of type 2 diabetes patients are unaware of their condition?
Joos Vandewalle is nieuwe voorzitter KVAB
09 October 2016
Op 5 oktober 2016 heeft de Algemene Vergadering van de Academie KVAB Joos Vandewalle verkozen tot voorzitter van de KVAB.