Therapeutic Vulnerabilities in 9p21-Loss Bladder Cancer: New Study in npj Precision Oncology Informs Rational Combination Strategies
A joint effort between the teams of Prof. Marianna Kruithof-de Julio (Cancer Therapy Resistance Program) and Prof. Francesca Demichelis (Università di Trento) has been published in npj Precision Oncology. The study, led in Bern by postdoc Dr. Catarina Macedo Silva, uncovers therapeutic vulnerabilities linked to 9p21 loss in bladder cancer using patient-derived organoids (PDOs).
The research validates these vulnerabilities in models that faithfully recreate tumor features, demonstrating that PDOs bridge drug screening to clinical hypotheses. By testing MTAP dependence, the team showed that drug combinations are more effective, especially in MTAP-deficient contexts, paving the way for rational therapies.