Targeting Tumor-stromal Interactions in Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic cancer is a disease resistant to available therapies, hence novel strategies to tackle the disease are urgently needed.

The pancreatic tumor is characterized by a dense tumor stroma consisting of a diverse extracellular matrix (ECM) and different subtypes of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) that provide cancer cells with signals that regulate cancer cell growth and survival, and contribute to immune evasion. The purpose of this project is to get a deeper understanding of the pathophysiological role of the stroma.

This will obtained by studies on the functional heterogeneity of the different stromal components, with the aim to reveal potential druggable targets found in the stroma, and to identify stroma-derived diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for the disease.

We will first resolve the functional diversity in subtypes of CAFs and prominent ECM proteins, and then determine which of these stromal components that are important for tumorogenesis and tumor progression.

Finally, we will develop drug candidates that inhibit pro-tumorigenic, and/or induce anti-tumorigenic, stromal interactions.

This will be achieved by applying single cell transcriptomics methods on patient tissue and tissue from mouse models of pancreatic cancer, and by performing high throughput compound screens in organoid/CAF based co-cultures.

The ultimate goal of the project is to bring new diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic strategies for pancreatic cancer into the clinic.