1.06 million for joint project on salivary gland carcinomas

The project is led by Prof. Jens Peter Klußmann (Executive Board Member at the Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne) and Dr. Marcel Mayer from the Department of Otolaryngology at the University Hospital of Cologne, together with project partners from the University Hospital of Cologne, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, and the University Hospital of Jena.

The funded project is entitled “MoSaic” (Decoding molecular mechanisms in salivary gland carcinoma through multi-omics analyses of sequential samples to improve and establish targeted therapies). The aim is to identify the molecular causes of therapy resistance in salivary gland carcinomas and thus enable new, targeted, and more effective therapeutic approaches.

Salivary gland carcinomas are considered rare and biologically heterogeneous tumor diseases. They are particularly difficult to treat in metastatic situations. Conventional chemotherapy and immunotherapy often show only limited effectiveness. Even modern targeted therapies often lose their effectiveness quickly.

This is where the research project comes in: over a period of three years, modern multi-omics analyses will be performed on patient samples before and after systemic therapies in order to identify key resistance mechanisms. The findings will be tested in preclinical models and then transferred to clinical care.

In addition, the establishment of an interdisciplinary tumor board and the creation of a nationwide, prospective registry are planned. The aim is to improve the treatment of patients with salivary gland carcinomas in the long term and to harmonize it throughout Germany.

This message has been modified by the CMMC (K. Heber & D. Grosskopf-Kroiher) and is based on the text by the press and communications teams of the University Hospoital Cologne (original German version here).