Projects

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common and deadly primary brain tumor in human adults. The ability of GBMs to invade and infiltrate normal surrounding brain tissues makes its complete surgical removal impossible and provides patients with a poor prognosis. At the invasive tumor rim, glioma cells are associated with microglial cells (MG), which are brain-resident macrophages that exhibit tumor-supportive functions. We discovered that ...

The overarching goal of this proposal is to understand the mechanistic underpinnings of microglia-driven glioma invasion and identify new therapeutic targets that enable a more complete surgical resection to substantially enhance patient survival. Our preliminary results support our proposition that targeting the communication between microglia and glioma cells provides an effective way to block the invasive nature of several GBM subtypes ...

The primary aim of the study is to evaluate whether PET using 18F-fluoromethylcholine in patients who underwent neurosurgery for high-grade glioma and who present for adjuvant radiotherapy can detect an early tumour recurrence. A secondary aim of the study is to compare PET data with data provided by MRI.

The primary aim of the study is to evaluate whether PET using 18F-fluoromethylcholine in patients who underwent neurosurgery for high-grade glioma and who present for aduvant radiotherapy can detect an early tumour recurrence. A secondary aim of the study is to compare PET data with data provided by MRI.

The project is aimed at 1) deciphering microglia-derived signals that promote glioma invasion using single cell RNA profiling and spatial transcriptomics on murine and human GBM tissue, 2) evaluate the potential implication of microglia-derived lipids in tumor invasion, and 3) therapeutically exploit these targets to guide a clinical trial for GBM patients at UZ Leuven.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is until today, one of the most aggressive and lethal tumors. Recent advances in surgery, chemo-and radiotherapy were not able to induce a significant shift in prognosis for these patients, and therefore this clearly presents an unmet medical need. Galectin-1 (Gal-1) is a naturally occurring galactose-binding lectin, which is overexpressed in glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). Gal-1 is associated with tumor ...

In this project we aim to unravel the origin, genetic and metabolic profile and function of endothelial-like cells (ELC) in vascular dysmorphia/dysfunction, tumour growth and potential contribution to therapy resistance and relapse.