Developing personalized treatment for advanced penile cancer through establishment of Patient-Derived Tumor Xenografts (PDTXs)

Penile cancer exhibits an aggressive clinical course marked by early
lymphatic and visceral dissemination. However, efficacy of platinum-based
regimens is extremely poor and resistance to these therapies develops
rapidly. As a reference centre, we have the opportunity to collect sufficient
patient samples to do meaningful research in this rare cancer. First, we want
to gain a better insight in the molecular and genomic drivers of penile cancer
and the distribution of targetable alterations in the genome and transcriptome.
To complement this information we will set up a representative library of
xenopatients in immunocompromised and immunocompetent mice which will
be characterized to investigate whether they carry the same genomic and
molecular fingerprints as the donor patients. These models will be employed
to investigate the use of personalized targeted-therapy and immunotherapy
combinations which may have the potential to improve outcomes and
overcome platinum resistance. Tissue samples will be collected for biomarker
development.