Title: New research to mimic how osteosarcoma cells travel through the bloodstream

Abstract:

Treatment for osteosarcoma typically includes both surgery and chemotherapy, with the aim of removing the tumour and any remaining cancer cells. However, in some cases, the cancer can spread (metastasise) to other parts of the body — making it much harder to treat and reducing chances of survival.

Researchers at Imperial College London, led by Dr Olivier Pardo, are investigating how osteosarcoma cells travel through the bloodstream to reach distant organs.

The cells, known as circulating tumour cells (CTCs), travel from the original tumour and can go undetected by the body's immune system. To study them, Dr Pardo and his team are using an innovative new device that mimics the conditions these cells face as they travel through the blood vessels. This will allow them to closely monitor how the cells change in response to these conditions to survive.

By comparing the behaviour of the travelling cells to those that remain in the original tumour, the team hope to identify critical adaptations that allow the cells to survive and eventually spread.

Biography:

Olivier E. Pardo graduated from the Faculty of Pharmacy Paris-V, France where he was awarded a Doctorate in Industrial Pharmacy (1997). He then completed his PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Imperial College-London (2002). He obtained post-doctoral experience in the laboratory of Prof. Julian Downward at the CRUK-London Research Institute where he worked on the regulation of apoptotic cell death and cell migration. In 2006, he created the Cellular Regulatory Networks lab at Imperial College, Department of Surgery and Cancer. His team focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying chemo-resistance and metastasis in lung and other cancers.