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Colorectal cancer is the third most diagnosed cancer globally, with rectal cancer specifically having a 5-year survival rate of 60%. Treatment often includes chemotherapy and radiation therapy before surgery, aiming to shrink the tumor for easier removal. Unfortunately, about 20% of patients do not respond to this treatment and are radioresistant, leading to unnecessary treatment with severe side effects and worsening of the cancer. Currently, there is no method to predict which patients are radioresistant, and this research project aims to change that.

The project builds on a collaboration between the Oncology Department at Aalborg University Hospital and the Diehn Lab at Stanford University. Together with the Danish mentor, Laurids Ø. Poulsen, Associate Professor and Chief Physician at AAUH, Munalisa Begum will bring archived tissue samples from Danish patients to Stanford. Here, genetic studies will be conducted under the guidance of Prof. Maximillian Diehn, a world-renowned expert in radiation therapy.

The study, the largest of its kind, includes tissue samples from patients both before treatment and from those who experienced recurrence. The project will investigate the genetic causes of radioresistance and identify markers that can be used as biomarkers to predict resistance. The goal is to identify radioresistant patients early so they can receive better treatment in the future.

Five Danish Medical Students on a Research Adventure in the USA

For the tenth consecutive year, the Lundbeck Foundation has awarded pre-graduate scholarships—also known as DARE fellowships—to Danish...