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Mapping the fitness landscapes of metastasizing cancers

Mapping the fitness landscapes of metastasizing cancers

Status
Recruiting
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Observational
Source
DRKS
Registry ID
DRKS00038478
Enrollment
56
Registered
2025-11-18
Start date
2026-01-15
Completion date
Unknown
Last updated
2026-02-02

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

C18 C34 C25

Interventions

Group 1: We will identify driver alterations in metastases. Using spatial transcriptomics from primary tumors and metastases, we will map transcriptomic and genomic changes that have newly arisen in t

Sponsors

Universitätsklinik Köln
Lead Sponsor

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to No maximum

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: Carcinoma of the colon or lung or pancras with metastases

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: younger than 18 years, no consent for research use of the remaining tissue

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frame
The primary endpoint is exploratory and serves hypothesis generation, aiming to identify genes that are differentially expressed in the metastasis compared to the primary tumor. We aim to analyze 12 patients to be able to identify genes with large effect sizes of 0.95 with 60% certainty. In the second step, we plan to investigate 12 patients with colorectal cancer and lung metastases. With the intention of generalizing the findings, we also plan to conduct these investigations for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC, n=12) and pancreatic cancer (n=12).

Secondary

MeasureTime frame
As a secondary endpoint, among the genes differentially expressed between primary tumor and metastasis, we aim to identify those that show a stronger effect at the tumor front compared to the tumor center. For this purpose, the expression profiles of cells of a given type (cancer cells, fibroblasts, macrophages, etc.) in the center and at the periphery of a tumor will be compared, as well as between primary tumor and metastasis.

Countries

Germany

Contacts

Public ContactAxel Hillmer

Universitätsklinikum Köln

ahillmer@uni-koeln.de+49 221 478 85643

Outcome results

None listed

Source: DRKS (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Feb 7, 2026