SPEDM awards i3S research into pituitary and thyroid cancers
Researchers Luís Miguel Cardoso, João Vinagre, and Paula Soares, from the “Cancer Signalling & Metabolism” group, were recently recognized by the Portuguese Society of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism (SPEDM) for their work in the area of thyroid cancer. Awarded during the Portuguese Congress of Endocrinology - 76th Annual Meeting of SPEDM, the prizes correspond to a total funding of 22,500 euros.
The project “Role of Clinical and Molecular Factors in Cushing's Disease Aggressiveness - CUSH-PREDICT Study”, proposed by researcher Luís Miguel Cardoso, was awarded a SPEDM/ESTEVE RD Grant in the area of Cushing's Syndrome, worth ten thousand euros. The team, which also includes researchers Marta Araújo-Castro, Gabriela Araújo Silva, João Vinagre, Daniela Guelho, Leonor Gomes, and Paula Soares, will “study clinical factors and key molecules that may be involved in the aggressiveness of corticotropic tumors, a subtype of pituitary tumors clinically characterized by increased cortisol”.
Pituitary tumors, explains the researcher, “are among the most frequent brain tumors and range from indolent forms, which do not require any clinical intervention, to aggressive tumors, associated with high morbidity, and some may be silent”. Understanding the mechanisms that determine the more or less aggressive behavior of these tumors, the response to therapy and the risk of recurrence, highlights Luís Miguel Cardoso, “is fundamental to implementing a personalized approach in the treatment and monitoring of these patients”.
The role of the DGCR8 gene in the thyroid gland
The project from researcher João Vinagre received a “Professor Edward Limbert SPEDM/Merck Grant in Thyroid Pathology” worth five thousand euros. Entitled “DGCR8 in Thyroid Repertoire: Functional Consequences of DGCR8 E518K Mutation”, this work aims to understand the role of the DGCR8 gene in the thyroid gland, both in normal and in cancer situations.
Using an in vitro model, the team of researchers, which also includes Lia Rodrigues, Luís Miguel Cardoso, Arnaud da Cruz Paula, and Paula Soares, “hopes to solidify the DGCR8 gene as an important gene in thyroid tumorigenesis and better understand its physiology in the disease context”.
Precision oncology for patients with advanced thyroid cancer
At the same meeting, SPEDM gave 7.5 thousand euros in sponsorship to a research project led by Paula Soares, leader of the i3S group “Cancer Signaling and Metabolism” and professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto (FMUP). Called “Decode metastatic thyroid cancer” this work aims to develop a precision oncology strategy for patients with advanced thyroid cancer.
In this research, explains Paula Soares, “we have to take two points into account: current therapies do not take into account the complexity of tumors and the changes they undergoes over time and with treatment, and the fact that there is a lack of studies based on robust series of patients with thyroid cancer that progress”. To overcome these limitations, the team, which also includes researchers Miguel Melo, Arnaud da Cruz Paula, Tito Teles Jesus, João Vinagre, Antónia Póvoa, and Valdemar Máximo, will conduct a “deep and integrated study of advanced thyroid cancer, including primary tumors and metastases from patients, using high-throughput sequencing”.
The genomic data collected, adds the researcher, will allow “[us] to better understand the tumor evolution of advanced thyroid cancers and will be used to develop a targeted panel dedicated to these cancers, thus contributing to increasing the impact of precision oncology in these patients”.