Peritoneal metastasis from colorectal cancer (PM-CRC)

The peritoneum is the third most common site for metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) after liver and lung, and is implicated in at least 25-30% of recurrences. Patients with PM-CRC have a poor prognosis (median survival of 30 months), and are more resistant to chemotherapy compared to other metastatic sites, thus finding new therapeutic targets for this group of patients is warranted.

Mutational and gene expression profiling

In this study we perform targeted DNA/RNA sequencing on tumor samples from 230 PM-CRC patients undergoing surgery and HIPEC with mitomycin C. To explore downstream effects of mutational findings, mRNA sequencing is carried out on a subset of patient samples. Associating these data with clinical characteristics will give us important knowledge for improving patient care.

Immune cell deconvolution

This study aims to explore the immune microenvironment in metastatic colorectal cancer by comparing immune cell populations in peritoneal, liver and lung metastases.  Immune cell deconvolution tools combined with differential gene expression and gene set enrichment analysis is applied on mRNA sequencing data from patient samples of the three metastatic sites.

Imaging mass cytometry (Hyperion)

In this study we will further explore the tumor microenvironment of PM-CRC by using Hyperion imaging on patient tissue sections. In addition to visualize and quantify several protein markers simultaneously, this method allows us to investigate spatial relationship of cells, pathways and phenotypes. We will also use this method to better understand therapy responses (Transcan)