Wouter Karthaus: Steroid hormoneregulated organs & cancers:Androgens, lineage plasticity and beyond

Prof. Wouter Karthaus

Steroid hormone regulated organs & cancers: Androgens, lineage plasticity and beyond

Abstract
Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most common malignancies, with more than 1.4 million new diagnoses and 375.000 deaths in 2020 alone. In spite of considerable heterogeneity in the mutational landscape, all primary PCa relies on the Androgen Receptor (AR) for growth and survival, treatment of metastatic prostate cancer is aimed on disrupting AR function using AR signaling inhibitors (ARSI). Potent “next generation” ARSI such as enzalutamide and abiraterone have been great clinical successes, however virtually all patients will eventually relapse, to a disease state commonly referred to as castration resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). The lecture discusses the several molecular mechanisms of progression to CRPC, which include a novel phenotype switching behaviour of cancer cells called lineage plasticity. Additionally, it discusses how these findings on lineage plasticity can be translated to steroid hormone regulated cancers, such as breast and endometrial cancer.

About the speaker
The research of Prof. Wouter Karthaus has focused on development of novel in vitro model systems to study prostate biology. Which led to the development of the prostate organoids methodology during his PhD. During Wouter's post-doc he used this model system to study the effects of androgen deprivation on the normal prostate as well as prostate cancer. Currently the Karthaus lab still focuses further developing and refining the organoid methodology, initiation and progression of steroid hormone dependent cancers and mechanisms of resistance to drug treatments.

Lab website: https://www.epfl.ch/labs/upkarthaus/