STEPUPIORS at AACR2025
Project participants from the Netherlands Cancer Institute under the leadership of Remond Fijneman and Gerrit Meijer had a very successful 2025 annual congress of the American Association for Cancer Research presenting results of multiple studies on colorectal cancer biomarkers:
Denise van Steijn
Cell-free DNA fragmentomes for treatment response monitoring in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer: the DOLPHIN study
Carmen Rubio Alarcón
Hemizygous focal deletions in MACROD2 alter tumor biology and genomic instability in colorectal cancer
Nerma Crnovrsanin
Beyond tumor size: Biological and clinical predictors of ctDNA shedding in colon cancer
All congress abstracts are freely available at:
STEPUPIORS at ZeNCure project training in Spatial Transcriptomics and Bioinformatics
STEPUPIORS project members Milena Cavic, Ana Djuric, Teodora Cato and Luka Lisica enjoyed a rewarding collaboration and training session in Spatial Transcriptomics and Bioinformatics organized by the ZeNCure Twinning project (101160259 ). During the training, stereo-seq technology applications on fresh frozen tissue and FFPE were presented, followed by a Spatial Transcriptomics Data Analysis
hands-on session.
STEPUPIORS at ESTRO2025
On May 1-6, 2025, project participant Mladen Marinkovic attended the annual congress of the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO), held in Vienna, Austria, under the theme “Transformative Innovation Through Partnership.”
During the congress, Dr Marinkovic presented the results of his research work in the form of digital posters:
“Prognostic factors for disease-free interval in patients with rectal cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and dose intensification”, presented within the lower gastrointestinal cancers session
“Prognostic factors for disease-free interval in patients with rectal cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and dose intensification”, presented within the lower gastrointestinal cancers session
and
“Meta-analysis of publicly available transcriptomics data reveals predictive biomarkers for neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy in rectal cancer”, presented in the radiobiology session.
Participation in this congress provided insight into the latest research and innovations in the field of radiation oncology, including advanced approaches to treatment planning and delivery, radiobiological foundations of personalized therapy, and the integration of artificial intelligence into clinical practice.
Moreover, the event served as a valuable platform for networking with colleagues from leading European centers, contributing significantly to the professional development and continuous improvement of both clinical and research work. The exchange of experiences and exposure to diverse methodologies and technologies are expected to enhance therapeutic strategies at the home institution.
Moreover, the event served as a valuable platform for networking with colleagues from leading European centers, contributing significantly to the professional development and continuous improvement of both clinical and research work. The exchange of experiences and exposure to diverse methodologies and technologies are expected to enhance therapeutic strategies at the home institution.
