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Department of Tumor Biology

Department

The Department of Tumor Biology is part of the Center of Experimental Medicine. Our research is dedicated to the identification and characterization of tumor cells that have disseminated from the primary tumor and may give rise to overt metastases in cancer patients. The early detection of "dormant" tumor cells is important to estimate the prognosis of patients with breast cancer and other carcinomas, may improve the individual management of targeted therapy options and might, in a long term, contribute to the development of new innovative cancer therapy approaches. To perform excellent translational research, we maintain cooperations with other institutes within the UKE, as well as national and international cooperations (Europe, Japan, USA), are leading extensive joint research projects and are organizers of international congresses about dormancy and dissemination of tumor cells.

Member of the University Cancer Center Hamburg

Services fo patients

Our department provides detection of circulating and disseminated tumor cells as a diagnostic tool for cancer patients. The early detection of circulating tumor cells (CTC) and disseminated tumor cells (DTC) is of prognostic relevance for cancer patients and displays a predictive tool for treatment stratification, especially for the use of targetd therapies. Furthermore, the department of Tumor Biology is part of the Reference Center of Northern Germany for Her2/neu diagnostics. For a number of years, the determination of ther Her2-status has important implications on therapeutic decisions for breast cancer patients. To identify disseminated tumor cells we are using modern and fast analytical systems. In our institute, we run the CellSearch(R) system for the detection of CTC, which holds an approval of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the USA.

Research

• Biology of micrometastatic development in solid tumors
• Matrix degrading proteases
• Invasion and metastasis of carcinomas
• Identification of new genes responsible for the development of metastases
• Detection and characterization of circulating DNA from tumor cells in blood samples of tumor patients
• Discovery of mechanisms of transcriptional regulation of tumor specific genes
• Functions of receptor tyrosine kinases of the HER family in metastasis
• Genetic of metastasis

Data and facts

More than 30 currently funded projects, a selection among these:

• ERC (European Research Counsil) Advanced Investigators Grant,2011
• BMBF MetFinder "Detection of metastatic founder cells for stratification and monitoring of systemic therapies in cancer patients"
• BMBF Metacell "Modulares Nachweissystem für Tumorzellen in Körperflüssigkeiten"

Muller I, Beeger C, Alix-Panabieres C, Rebillard X, Pantel K, Schwarzenbach H. Identification of loss of heterozygosity on circulating free DNA in peripheral blood of prostate cancer patients: potential and technical improvements. Clin Chem 2008;54: 688-96.

Schmidt H, DeAngelis G, Eltze E, Gockel I, Semjonow A, Brandt B: Asynchronous growth of prostate cancer is reflected by circulating tumor cells delivered from distinct, even small foci, harboring loss of heterozygosity of the PTEN gene.,Cancer Res. 2006 Sep 15;66(18):8959-65.

Braun S, Vogl FD, Naume B, Janni W, Osborne MP, Coombes RC, Schlimok G, Diel IJ, Gerber B, Gebauer G, Pierga JY, Marth C, Oruzio D, Wiedswang G, Solomayer EF, Kundt G, Strobl B, Fehm T, Wong GY, Bliss J, Vincent-Salomon A, Pantel K. A pooled analysis of bone marrow micrometastasis in breast cancer. N Engl J Med 2005;353: 793-802.

Education and training

• Training in Preclinical Studies of Medicine - elective course, seminar: The biology of the cell and its medical relevance
• Lecture Clinical Studies of Medicine - elective course, seminar: Tumor Biology
• Experimental Oncology (in co-operation with Radiooncology, Oncology Center) - elective course, seminar
• Pharmacology for Pharmacologists (reading)
• Pharmacology for dental students (reading)
• Master studies Molecular Life Sciences (compulsory subject, reading, seminars and practical internships)
• Graduate studies: Research training group in molecular biology
• Participation in lectures of the Pathology (subject Tumor Biology) and Pharmacology (subject Chemotherapy)
• Training for international students: Scan Balt Campus (Network of Knowledge on Molecular Diagnostics)

In co-oporation with the Department of Radiobiology and Experimental Radiology we organize a series of lectures titled "Recent Advances in Oncology". National and international oncologists and scientists present latest scientific results of their study groups.

Department statistics

At present, 43 medical doctors, biologists, biochemists, chemists, pharmacists, technicians and administrative employees work at the department of Tumor Biology.
Addionally, we accomodate a fluctuating number of medical students, who perform their experimental doctoral thesis, and students of Biology (internships, master thesis).