Liquid biopsy and tumor dynamics

Irene Casanova Salas

OUR RESEARCH FOCUSES ON DEVELOPING LIQUID BIOPSY TOOLS TO NON-INVASIVELY MONITOR TUMOUR EVOLUTION AND UNDERSTAND HOW TUMOURS ADAPT TO TREATMENT.

Through a patient-centred, translational approach, we aim to advance precision medicine by identifying biomarkers that improve diagnosis, patient stratification and treatment selection.

We combine patient samples and preclinical models with a multi-omics approach integrating genomic analysis (circulating tumour DNA, ctDNA), transcriptomics (extracellular vesicle-associated RNA, EV-RNA) and proteomics (circulating proteomics), alongside functional assays. This approach enables us to longitudinally investigate the co-evolution of tumours and their ecosystem, and identify functional biomarkers that reflect tumour adaptation, anticipate treatment response and resistance, and guide the development of improved therapeutic strategies.

Our research is structured around three main pillars: (1) next-generation sequencing (NGS) applications in liquid biopsy; (2) computational analysis and multi-omics integration; and (3) functional validation in preclinical models. Our ultimate goal is to translate these findings into clinical practice, enabling dynamic cancer monitoring and the development of more effective, personalised therapeutic strategies.

PRESENTATION

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RESEARCH STAFF

THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE IT ALL POSSIBLE

Irene Casanova Salas
icasanova@cipf.es

María García Flores
mgarcia@cipf.es

PUBLICATIONS

OUR SCIENTIFIC CONTRIBUTIONS

Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis of Blood-based Liquid Biopsies to Inform Clinical Decision-making in Prostate Cancer.

Casanova-Salas I, Athie A, Boutros PC, Del Re M, Miyamoto DT, Pienta KJ, Posadas EM, Sowalsky AG, Stenzl A, Wyatt AW and Mateo J

EUROPEAN UROLOGY 2021 Jun,  DOI:  10.1016/j.eururo.2020.12.037,  Vol. 79,  pag. 762-771

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Talazoparib plus enzalutamide in high-volume metastatic hormone-naive prostate cancer: a randomized phase 2 trial.

Zacchi F, Castro E, Imbach K, Rodriguez-Vida A, Simonetti S, Mellado B, Mir Arnau G, Aguilar D, Castellano D, Climent MA, Ramos MJ, Borque-Fernando A, Guerrero JA, Gonzalez-Alonso P, Perez-Escuredo J, Izquierdo V, Saez MI, Domenech H, Arce-Gallego S, Herrera-Imbroda B, Planas J, Lorente D, Font A, Oliveira A, Cresta Morgado P, Esquefa V, Brandariz J, Anselmino N, Zhu K, Troncoso P, Aguilera M, Vivancos A, Nuciforo P, Casanova-Salas I, Porta E, Carles J, Zurita AJ and Mateo J

NATURE MEDICINE  ,  DOI:  10.1038/s41591-026-04671-5,  Vol. ,  pag. 

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Tumour exosomal CEMIP protein promotes cancer cell colonization in brain metastasis.

Rodrigues G, Hoshino A, Kenific CM, Matei IR, Steiner L, Freitas D, Kim HS, Oxley PR, Scandariato I, Casanova-Salas I, Dai J, Badwe CR, Gril B, Tešic Mark M, Dill BD, Molina H, Zhang H, Benito-Martin A, Bojmar L, Ararso Y, Offer K, LaPlant Q, Buehring W, Wang H, Jiang X, Lu TM, Liu Y, Sabari JK, Shin SJ, Narula N, Ginter PS, Rajasekhar VK, Healey JH, Meylan E, Costa-Silva B, Wang SE, Rafii S, Altorki NK, Rudin CM, Jones DR, Steeg PS, Peinado H, Ghajar CM, Bromberg J, de Sousa M, Pisapia D and Lyden D

NATURE CELL BIOLOGY 2019 Nov,  DOI:  10.1038/s41556-019-0404-4,  Vol. 21,  pag. 1403-1412

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Whole-body Magnetic Resonance Imaging as a Treatment Response Biomarker in Castration-resistant Prostate Cancer with Bone Metastases: The iPROMET Clinical Trial.

Garcia-Ruiz A, Macarro C, Zacchi F, Morales-Barrera R, Grussu F, Casanova-Salas I, Sanguedolce F, Gonzalez M, Cresta-Morgado P, de Albert M, Garcia-Bennett J, Marmolejo D, Planas J, Roche S, Mast R, Zatse C, Piulats JM, Herrera-Imbroda B, Regis L, Agundez L, Olmos D, Calvo N, Escobar M, Carles J, Mateo J and Perez-Lopez R

EUROPEAN UROLOGY 2024 Sep,  DOI:  10.1016/j.eururo.2024.02.016,  Vol. 86,  pag. 272-274

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FUNDING

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING US

This work is supported by ERC grant (EVOLVE, 101221764)

“Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only
and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.”

Grant RYC2024-049563-I funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by ESF+.

Fundación FERO

Prostate Cancer Foundation