Portuguese League Against Cancer rewards young researchers

The northern section of the Portuguese League Against Cancer (“LPCC”) recently awarded 17 annual research grants, four of which were won by young i3S researchers. With an individual value of 12,600 euros, these grants aim to support innovative projects in the areas of cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment,

With a total funding of more than 214 thousand euros allocated by LPCC-NRN, more than 50 thousand euros will be used to finance four i3S projects in different areas: pediatric brain tumors (Bárbara Ferreira), familial thyroid cancer (Elisabete Teixeira), metastatic breast cancer (Rita Carvalho), and triple-negative breast cancer (Ricardo Pinto).

Targeted therapies for pediatric central nervous system tumors

Pediatric tumors of the central nervous system are the central theme of the project presented by Bárbara Ferreira, from the Cancer Signaling & Metabolism group. Under the guidance of researcher Jorge Lima and part of a multidisciplinary team of scientists from i3S and Ipatimup and clinicians from Centro Hospitalar Universitário São João, the researcher aims to find alternatives to existing therapies that are based on a combination of surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy and which are associated with adverse effects with a major impact on the quality of life of surviving children and their families.

The main objective, she explains, “is to use cell sequencing technology to characterize different cellular subpopulations in complex pediatric central nervous system tumors using the patient-derived organoid model already established by our team”. After identifying the molecular changes in tumors, highlights Bárbara Ferreira, “we hope to carry out drug tests aimed at these changes, which could result in new therapeutic approaches for these patients”.

Prevent and develop innovative therapies for thyroid cancer

The project by researcher Elisabete Teixeira, from the Cancer Signaling & Metabolism group, led by Paula Soares, focuses on familial thyroid cancer, “a complex and little understood disease”. This work, explains the researcher, “aims to facilitate early diagnosis, risk stratification and personalized medicine for families with a genetic history of the disease”.

Through a comprehensive genetic study of families with several members affected by thyroid cancer, “we intend to better understand the disease, allowing its prevention, active surveillance, and contributing to the development of innovative therapies”, says Elisabete Teixeira. This approach, she emphasizes, “could reduce advanced cases of disease, aggressive treatments, comorbidities and invasive surgeries, also alleviating the economic burden on the national health system”.

Being able to predict the risk of brain metastases

About ten percent of breast cancers metastasize to the brain. The percentage is not very high, but it is the metastatic organ with the most negative impact on patients' survival: Survival rates are very low and existing treatments are not effective. The Cancer Metastasis group, where Rita Carvalho will develop her project, under the guidance of researcher Ana Sofia Ribeiro, recently identified a protein secreted by tumor cells that plays a crucial role in brain metastasis.

With this project, now funded by LPCC, explains Rita Carvalho, “we will validate the clinical impact of this protein and its potential as a predictive biomarker for brain metastases, allowing a more precise identification of women at high risk for developing metastases in this organ”. The objective, says the researcher, “is to be able to develop more effective treatments, benefiting women affected by this devastating disease”.

Studying triple negative breast cancer in African women

Characterized by a very high incidence in women of African ancestry, especially in younger age groups, triple-negative breast cancer is the most aggressive breast cancer subtype with the worst prognosis and this has been the focus of researcher Ricardo Pinto, from the Genetic Diversity group, led by Luísa Pereira.

In collaboration with IPO-Porto and partners from Portuguese-speaking African Countries (PALOP), and using high-performance technologies, Ricardo Pinto intends to “characterize somatic mutational profiles and evaluate the response to therapies to triple-negative breast cancer”. The information obtained following the study of the biological mechanisms of this group of neoplasms in African women, he explains, “could contribute to the development of informed preventive and therapeutic strategies”.