Biomedical research in Urology – VHIR Annual Report 2024

Publications

62.96

%Q1

Number of citations

81.82

% Open Access Publications

Ongoing Projects

Number of Presented Theses

Number of Active Clinical Trials

In 2024 our group has pushed forward in the laboratory three main areas of research with the corresponding financial support and intellectual protection of the results: (i) use of radiogenomics and artificial intelligence to accurately discriminate between indolent and aggressive prostate cancer (PCa); (ii) study of new strategies to improve PCa diagnosis and management of BRCA-2 carriers (both from a clinical and molecular perspective); (iii) Study at the cellular and molecular level the resistance mechanisms to current therapies in order to better understand how it works and try to overcome it finding new possible therapeutic targets. We have generated models of primary cultures ex vivo and studied the mechanisms of progression and resistance to therapy. We have enlarged our collection of PCa liquid biopsies and tissues and provided with some of these samples to Joaquin Mateo’s group at VHIO for collaborative PDXs collection.

eCORE

Cancer

Team

Group Leader
Joan Morote Robles, Anna Santamaria Margalef

Principal Investigator (PI)
Olga Méndez Fernández

Researchers
Senior Researchers: Enric Trilla, Jacques Planas, Mercè Cuadras, Ana Celma, Lucas Regis, Inés de Torres, Maria Eugenia Semidey | Postdoctoral Researcher Marta Barber

PhD Students
Lidia Ramírez

Lab Technicians
David Ruiz

Selected Publications

Morote J, Celma A, Semidey ME, Antolín A, Miró B, Méndez O, Trilla E.
Analysis of Inflammatory Features in Suspicious Lesions for Significant Prostate Cancer on Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Are They Mimickers of Prostate Cancer?
Cancers (Basel). 2024 Dec 27;17(1):53.
DOI: 10.3390/cancers17010053.
IF: 4.5

Cuadras M, Semidey ME, Planas J, de Torres IM, Regis L, Celma A, Trilla E, Ramón Y Cajal S, Medina RA, Congregado B, Marcilla D, Japón MA, Ramirez M, Calatrava-Fons A, Leivar A, Alonso MB, García E, González-Peramato P, Vazquez-Martul D, Concha-López Á, Chantada V, Queipo FJ, Gago JL, Carrato C, Luque RJ, Moreno-Jimenez J, Catalina-Fernández I, León C, Morote J. I
Molecular Detection of Lymph Node Metastases with One-Step Nucleic Acid Amplification (OSNA) Pooling in Prostate Cancer: The POPCORN Study.
nt J Mol Sci. 2024 Dec 17;25(24):13489.
DOI: 10.3390/ijms252413489
IF: 4.9

Morote J, Paesano N, Picola N, Muñoz-Rodriguez J, Ruiz-Plazas X, Muñoz-Rivero MV, Celma A, García-de Manuel G, Miró B, Abascal JM, Servian P, Méndez O, Trilla E.
The Role of Digital Rectal Examination for Early Detection of Significant Prostate Cancer in the Era of Magnetic Resonance Imaging.
Life (Basel). 2024 Oct 23;14(11):1359.
DOI: 10.3390/life14111359
IF: 3.2

Morote J, Paesano N, Picola N, Miró B, Abascal JM, Servian P, Trilla E, Méndez O.
Comparing Two Targeted Biopsy Schemes for Detecting Clinically Significant Prostate Cancer in Magnetic Resonance Index Lesions: Two- to Four-Core versus Saturated Transperineal Targeted Biopsy.
Cancers (Basel). 2024 Jun 23;16(13):2306.
DOI: 10.3390/cancers16132306
IF: 4.5

Morote J, Borque-Fernando Á, Esteban LM, Celma A, Campistol M, Miró B, Méndez O, Trilla E.
Investigating Efficient Risk-Stratified Pathways for the Early Detection of Clinically Significant Prostate Cancer.
J Pers Med. 2024 Jan 23;14(2):130.
DOI: 0.3390/jpm14020130.
IF: 3.4

Selected Projects

Radiogenomics for the prediction of prostate cancer aggressiveness through artificial intelligence (PI20/01666).
Principal Investigator: Juan Morote
Agency: Instituto de Salud Carlos III
Funding: 151,250 €
Period: 2021-2023. Extended till 2025

Red Federada de Inteligencia Artificial para acelerar la Investigación Sanitaria (MIA.2021.M02.0005).
Principal Investigator: Anna Santamaria, Juan Morote
Agency: Ministerio de Asuntos Económicos y Transformación Digital
Funding: 987,624 €
Period: 2021-2024

FLUTE: Federated Learning and mUlti-party computation Techniques for prostatE cancer. HORIZON-HLTH-2022-IND-13-02 topic.
Principal Investigator: Olga Méndez/ Juan Morote
Agency: European Union.
Funding: 490,375€
Period: 2023-2025

Incorporación de nuevos métodos de imagen y perfiles moleculares para mejorar el cribado de cáncer de próstata en portadores de mutaciones en genes de las vías de reparación de ADN (PI23/01310).
Principal Investigator: Olga Méndez
Agency: Instituto de Salud Carlos III
Funding: 127,500€
Period: 2024-2026

Estudio radioproteómico para la caracterización y predicción de la progresión de tumores renales pequeños. PR(AG)63/2024.
Principal Investigator: Enric Trilla
Agency: NA
Funding: NA
Period: 2024-2028

Patents

INHIBITOR OF MAP KINASE INTERACTING SERINE/THREONINE KINASE 1 (MNK1) AND MAP KINASE INTERACTING SERINE/THREONINE KINASE 2 (MNK2), CANCER THERAPY METHODS AND THERAPEUTIC COMBINATIONS
Priority Number: PCT/EP2020/06945(WO2021005183)
Priority Date: 09/07/2020
Applicants: Ramon y Cajal, Santiago; Hümmer, Stefan; Castellvi, Josep; Martinez Sáez, Elena; Borrell, José; Teixidó, Jordi; Estrada, Roger; Bou Petit, Elisabeth; Peg, Vicente; Guijarro, Pedro; Santamaria, Anna; Morote, Joan; Suarez, Leticia. Applicants 47% VHIR/ 50% IQS /3% CIBERONC

Selected Dissemination Activities

Visit of the STEM club from the Benjamin Franklin International School (BFIS)
Place: Urology lab at VHIR
Date: 02/11/2024
Brief: People from the Urology lab showed the students from BFIS school the research we do in the lab
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