Cell & Animal Lab

Integrated Diagnostics is a new frontline within the multidisciplinary treatment of diseases, where multiple pillars of diagnosis such as imaging, liquid biopsy, molecular pathology and clinical data science are converging. Imaging by itself frequently is not able to provide sufficient information, neither on characterization of a certain disease, nor on the response to treatment. Therefore, additional biomarkers are required to gain a comprehensive picture of a certain pathophysiology and state of disease. As such, biomarkers retrieved from tissue and liquid biopsies complement data from non-invasive biomedical imaging.

Our research group focuses specifically on biomarkers (imaging, tissue and liquid biopsies) of malignant disease. Especially in the setting of oligometastases a better understanding of disease activity, extent and spread is required to tailor personalized treatment approaches. For example, the assessment of minimal residual disease (MRD), defined as a malignant lesion not detectable by existing diagnostic modalities but nevertheless posing the patient to a high risk of recurrence specifically requires a multimodal assessment of the malignant disease. In this context, our laboratory aims to understand the molecular and cellular ground of malignant disease, characterizing the triggering pathways and unraveling new predictive markers.

Complementary to tissue analysis, liquid biopsies help to understand altered post-treatment signaling pathways which may contribute either to local tumor progression or accelerate the response to therapy. Via soluble molecules obtained from peripheral blood predictive models can be generated to improve response monitoring. In our research we focus on the role of the identification and the characterization of circulating tumor cells (CTC) and tumor-derived circulating molecules, such as exosomes, circulating tumor DNA and microRNA, which not only trigger the metastatic disease but also support the identification of cancer lesions at a stage when standard imaging procedures are still failing.

Preclinical translational research in oncological imaging is one of the laboratory’s key research areas which caters our vision of integrated diagnostics. We focus on experimental multimodality functional and molecular imaging. We apply established and innovative imaging procedures such as MRI, µPET/CT and MSOT respectively to validate non invasive quantitative imaging biomarkers for both prediction and response assessment to guide clinical management. This includes research on a variety of in vivo quantitative biomarkers to transfer knowledge from experimental studies to diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. Molecular imaging and probe development are performed and coordinanted in cooperation with the LMU department of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging.

For a comprehensive integrated diagnostic approach, structured biobanking of tissue and blood samples is mandatory. For this purpose, we integrate biobanking in almost every clinical trial. Patients undergoing interventional oncology treatments undergo repetitive sampling of blood and tissue together with biomedical imaging according to dedicated schemes. This structured collection of imaging, tissue and blood biomarkers enables a comprehensive assessment of disease status in oncology. Grooming and integration of these multiple diagnostic markers finally adds up to the concept of integrated diagnostics.

Currently ongoing, together with the Department for Gastroenterology and Hepatology at KUM we are establishing HEP-KUM, a unique liver biobank with extensive collection of human bio-samples which will offer a valuable resource for the study of liver diseases from early cirrhosis to advanced liver disease including hepatocellular carcinoma.