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FIELD OF EXPERTISE
- Ovarian Cancer
- Xenografting
- Zebrafish
- Circulating tumor cell
- Preclinical evaluation of cancer drugs
- Clinical cancer research
PROJECTS
Background
Ovarian cancer (+/-900 new cases in Belgium annually) is most often diagnosed at an advanced stage of the disease, resulting in poor prognosis. Standard therapy schemes are applied to all epithelial ovarian cancers, but specific histological subtypes like clear cell carcinoma do not respond.
However, based on in vitro studies there are several therapies in scope that could be beneficial for these patients. Unfortunately, the rarity of these tumors prevents the conduction of randomized studies, leading to a lack of established standard of care.
Aim
My research is focused on the development of a zebrafish PDX platform. I am developing such a platform, suitable for engraftment of both tumor tissue and circulating tumor cells, allowing adequate follow-up during therapies in a minimally invasive manner. I aim to develop an in vivo predictive test for personalized treatment of any subtype of ovarian cancer.
Strategy
First, we want to evaluate if ovarian tumors engrafted in zebrafish can accurately predict ovarian cancer patient’s response to (neo)adjuvant therapy in a short time period. We are convinced that the response in the zPDX models will correlate well with the primary tumor responses in the patients, based on a previous publication for colon cancer. As the zPDX platform is designed to obtain insight in initial tumor response, the approach is not suitable to predict resistance in the long term. However, engraftment of CTCs isolated from blood and/or ascites allows to evaluate if sensitivity to the previous treatment still remains or, in case of resistance, predict response to alternative treatment strategies such as second, third or fourth line therapies. Promising results will be translated to a co-clinical trial for patients with clear cell ovarian or endometrial cancer, in collaboration with the university hospital, pharmaceutical companies and my co-supervisors.
Ovarian cancer (+/-900 new cases in Belgium annually) is most often diagnosed at an advanced stage of the disease, resulting in poor prognosis. Standard therapy schemes are applied to all epithelial ovarian cancers, but specific histological subtypes like clear cell carcinoma do not respond.
However, based on in vitro studies there are several therapies in scope that could be beneficial for these patients. Unfortunately, the rarity of these tumors prevents the conduction of randomized studies, leading to a lack of established standard of care.
Aim
My research is focused on the development of a zebrafish PDX platform. I am developing such a platform, suitable for engraftment of both tumor tissue and circulating tumor cells, allowing adequate follow-up during therapies in a minimally invasive manner. I aim to develop an in vivo predictive test for personalized treatment of any subtype of ovarian cancer.
Strategy
First, we want to evaluate if ovarian tumors engrafted in zebrafish can accurately predict ovarian cancer patient’s response to (neo)adjuvant therapy in a short time period. We are convinced that the response in the zPDX models will correlate well with the primary tumor responses in the patients, based on a previous publication for colon cancer. As the zPDX platform is designed to obtain insight in initial tumor response, the approach is not suitable to predict resistance in the long term. However, engraftment of CTCs isolated from blood and/or ascites allows to evaluate if sensitivity to the previous treatment still remains or, in case of resistance, predict response to alternative treatment strategies such as second, third or fourth line therapies. Promising results will be translated to a co-clinical trial for patients with clear cell ovarian or endometrial cancer, in collaboration with the university hospital, pharmaceutical companies and my co-supervisors.
PRIZES AND AWARDS
- Best poster presentation award (OncoPoint 2022, Ghent)
- Best poster (Belgian Week of Pathology 2021)
- Best Storm Session Presentation (OncoDot1 2020, Ghent)
- FWO doctoral fellowship (2019-2021)
DEGREES
- Doctor of Health Sciences, Defended Jule 2024 (dissertation: 'Fishing for personalized ovarian cancer therapy')
- Master of Biochemical Engineering Technology, Master of Science (MSc) (KU Leuven, 2017)
- Bachelor in Pharmaceutical and Biological Laboratory Technology (Odisee, 2015)