Head and neck cancers are made up of numerous and different tumours of the mouth and respiratory tract linings as well as the salivary glands.

Up until now, the most recommended treatments to cure those cancers are surgery and for advanced cancer cases, chemotherapy. To improve treatment, it is important to develop personalized approaches based on each individual’s tumor characteristics.

The research projects are based on the analysis of multi-omics data from head and neck cancers to identify the biomarkers predicting the success or failure of the various available therapeutic approaches, and the reoccurrence of disease after surgery.

Personalization of treatment based on tumour explants

We grow tumor explants to study the therapeutic targeting of head and neck tumours. This has multiple benefits: it allows for the functional study of the tumor in the most suitable physiological conditions and it allows for observing how the various head and neck tumors react to different therapeutic molecules.