SPECIAL SEMINAR - SEANO Giorgio - Director of Tumor Microenvironment Lab, Chemical Biology of the Cancer - CURIE INSTITUTE - CNRS / Univ Paris Orsay

Targeting glioblastoma cell state transitions induced by radiotherapy, chemotherapy and neurosurgery

Dr SEANO Giorgio

Director of Tumor Microenvironment Lab, Chemical Biology of the Cancer
CURIE INSTITUTE
CNRS / Univ Paris Orsay

Abstract

Dr. Seano’s research is focused on brain tumors and he is specialized in tumor plasticity, resistance mechanisms, and tumor microenvironment. The lab investigates the effects of each of the conventional therapies on cell and microenvironment plasticity. Their model system to test the involvement of tumor plasticity during therapy is glioblastoma (GBM), a highly plastic, resistant, and deadly brain tumor. They hypothesize that each individual conventional therapy induces GB cell and microenvironment plasticity, thus making it more resistant to subsequent therapy. GBM treatment involves a combination of surgical resection, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy with temozolomide. Despite the aggressive standard of care, 90% of patients experience recurrence a few months after treatment, which is typically marked by the regrowth of highly invasive cells spreading from the peritumoral brain resection zone.
During his talk, Dr. Seano will present published and unpublished data on how all three conventional therapies (radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and surgery) induce cell plasticity, thus pushing towards more resistant cell states and protecting the tumor microenvironment.