About
Colorectal cancer is the most prevalent form of cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related death in Spain. Current treatment protocols for patients with metastatic disease mainly involve a combination of chemotherapy and targeted therapies. These treatments pursue two primary goals: first, to reduce tumour burden in order to facilitate surgical intervention and thereby significantly improve survival rates; and second, to relieve symptoms and extend patients' lives as much as possible.
Despite the transformative advances achieved through immunotherapy in oncology, its effectiveness remains limited, with fewer than 5% of colorectal cancer patients responding to treatment. A major challenge in achieving therapeutic success in clinical practice is treatment resistance, which ultimately affects almost all patients.
This research group is primarily dedicated to investigating the mechanisms that drive resistance to conventional therapies in colorectal cancer. Its objectives include identifying prognostic biomarkers of treatment response and uncovering tumour vulnerabilities that may guide the use of alternative therapeutic options or support the development of novel treatment strategies. In addition, the group seeks to elucidate the factors underlying the limited efficacy of immunotherapy in colorectal cancer and to explore approaches to overcome this challenge.
Complementing this work, the group also conducts research on glioblastoma (GBM), the central nervous system tumour with the poorest prognosis. This line of research focuses on understanding interactions within the tumour microenvironment in this highly aggressive disease and identifying new therapeutic opportunities.
The team adopts a multidisciplinary approach based on preclinical models and patient-derived samples. Its overarching goal is to develop personalised medicine strategies that improve not only patient survival but also quality of life.
This research is conducted within the framework of two institutional programmes: the ProCURE programme at the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO) and the CARE programme at IGTP.
Keywords: colorectal cancer, glioblastoma, biomarkers, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, therapeutic resistance.
Group leader
- Eva Martínez-Balibrea
Eva Martínez-Balibrea
Dr Eva Martínez-Balibrea is a biologist with a strong background in colorectal cancer (CRC) research, focused on improving patient management through a translational approach. During her PhD, she investigated genetic predictors of treatment response, leading to the co-leadership of a pioneering clinical trial in which first-line therapies were assigned based on specific polymorphisms, with results published in Annals of Oncology (2018). She also developed preclinical models of oxaliplatin resistance, contributing to the identification of underlying molecular mechanisms and predictive biomarkers. Her current research focuses on the discovery of novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets in CRC, including chemokines, chromatin regulation, and innovative strategies such as targeted protein degradation, alongside the development of ex vivo platforms based on organotypic tumor spheroids to evaluate new therapies.
She coordinates the European COST Action IMMUNO-model (CA21135), fostering collaboration in preclinical immune-oncology models across academia, clinical research, and industry. Dr. Martínez-Balibrea has authored or co-authored 45 publications in high-impact journals and has secured competitive funding at national and international levels. She is Secretary of the Pathobiology Group (PBG) of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) and Chair-elect of the group for 2027. She is also a member of the TTD and AACR, organises the annual "Jornadas en Investigación Traslacional en Neoplasias Digestivas," and serves as Secretary of the Internal Scientific Advisory Borad of IGTP.
Contact: embalibrea(ELIMINAR)@iconcologia.net
ORCID: 0000-0002-4501-7100
Linkedin profile
Team
Research associate
Cristina Queralt Herrero, PhD(ELIMINAR)
Medical oncologist
Núria Mulet, MD, PhD(ELIMINAR)
Project manager
Melanie Giorgi(ELIMINAR)
Postdoctoral researcher
Maria Dolores Salinas
PhD students
Ferran Grau Leal(ELIMINAR)
Marta Costa García(ELIMINAR)
Technician
Carla Vendrell Ayats(ELIMINAR)
Research lines
The group’s research is focused on improving the understanding and treatment of colorectal cancer through a translational approach, combining patient-derived samples with advanced preclinical models.
Biomarker discovery for treatment response and prognosis
The team aims to identify molecular biomarkers that predict treatment response and patient outcomes. This work integrates the analysis of biological samples from patients with functional studies in laboratory models, enabling the validation of clinically relevant markers.
Identification of novel therapeutic targets
They explore new vulnerabilities in tumour cells to develop more effective therapeutic strategies. Their approach includes the use of genetic engineering and targeted protein degradation technologies to functionally interrogate candidate targets and assess their therapeutic potential.
Role of the tumour microenvironment in therapy response
The group investigates how the tumour microenvironment influences response to treatment, with a particular focus on immune-related mechanisms. To this end, the members employ advanced 3D patient-derived models, including organotypic tumour spheroids, which better recapitulate tumour complexity and allow more predictive preclinical testing.
Active projects
Modelling immunotherapy response and toxicity in cancer
PI: Eva Martinez-Balibrea
Funding agency: IMMUNO-model COST Action - EU
Agency code: CA21135
Duration: 01/10/2022 - 31/12/2026
KRASG12D Inhibition: Unraveling Resistance Mechanisms and its Impact on the Adenosinergic Pathway in Colorectal Cancer
PI: Eva Martinez-Balibrea
Funding agency: Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades
Agency code: PID2023-153089OB-I00
Duration: 01/09/2024 - 31/12/2027
Oxaliplatin-Induced Immunomodulation in Colorectal Cancer: Evaluating CXCL13 Levels in Blood and Tertiary Lymphoid Structure Formation as Predictive and Prognostic Biomarkers
PI: Núria Mulet
Fuding Agency: Instituto de Salud Carlos III
Agency code: PI24/00824
Duration: 01/01/2024 - 31/12/2027
Past projects
Integrating Translational Research in Gastric Cancer. Grupo TTD
Cinta Hierro, team member
Funding agency: Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación
Duration: 01/01/2023 - 31/12/2023
Systematic analysis of tumor vulnerabilities conferred by chromatin regulators loss in colorectal cancer
PI: Eva Martinez-Balibrea
Funding agency: Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII)
Agency code: PI20/01183
Duration: 01/01/2021 - 31/12/2023
Implementation of a comprehensive translational research platform within the framework of early clinical trials: the INSPECTA project
Eva Martinez-Balibrea, team member
Funding agency: Fundacion Merck Salud
Duration: 2020 - 2023
SPOT & HIT: Enabling personalized colorectal cancer management by coupling unified genetic and epigenetic testing to organoidbased treatment screening
PI: Jordi Barretina, coordinator of WP1 and WP3
Funding agency: Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación
Duration: 01/12/2022 - 30/11/2025
Remodelers of the extracellular matrix: association with lymphocytic infiltration and applicability as markers of response to immunotherapy in colon and rectal cancer
Eva Martinez-Balibrea, team member
Funding agency: Fundación Mutua Madrileña
Duration: 2020 - 2023
Degrading Cdk5 for treatment of colorectal cancer
PI: Eva Martinez-Balibrea
Funding agency: Fundación Científica Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer (AECC)
Duration: 01/12/2020 - 30/06/2023
Scientific publications
Highlighted publications
Queralt C, Moreta-Moraleda C, Costa M, Grau-Leal F, Diesch J, Vendrell-Ayats C, Musulén E, Wright RHG, Bugés C, Manzano JL, Cabrero-de Las Heras S, Zuber J, Buschbeck M, Forcales SV, Martínez-Balibrea E. Loss-of-function genetic screen unveils synergistic efficacy of PARG inhibition with combined 5-fluorouracil and irinotecan treatment in colorectal cancer. Clin Transl Med. 2025 Dec;15(12):e70543. DOI: 10.1002/ctm2.70543.
Cabrero-de Las Heras S, Hernández-Yagüe X, González A, Losa F, Soler G, Bugés C, Baraibar I, Esteve A, Pardo-Cea MÁ, Ree AH, Martínez-Bosch N, Nieva M, Musulén E, Meltzer S, Lobato T, Vendrell-Ayats C, Queralt C, Navarro P, Montagut C, Grau-Leal F, Camacho D, Legido R, Mulet-Margalef N, Martínez-Balibrea E. Changes In Serum CXCL13 Levels Are Associated With Outcomes of Colorectal Cancer Patients Undergoing First-Line Oxaliplatin-Based Treatment. Biomed Pharmacother. 2024 Jul;176:116857. DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2024.116857.
Moreta-Moraleda C, Queralt C, Vendrell-Ayats C, Forcales S, Martínez-Balibrea E. Chromatin factors: Ready to roll as biomarkers in metastatic colorectal cancer? Pharmacol Res. 2023 Oct;196:106924. DOI: 10.1016/j.phrs.2023.106924.
Ruiz de Porras V, Bystrup S, Cabrero-de Las Heras S, Musulén E, Palomero L, Alonso MH, Nieto R, Arango D, Moreno V, Queralt C, Manzano JL, Layos L, Bugés C, Martinez-Balibrea E. Tumor Expression of Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 5 (Cdk5) Is a Prognostic Biomarker and Predicts Outcome of Oxaliplatin-Treated Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Patients. Cancers (Basel). 2019 Oct 11;11(10):1540. DOI: 10.3390/cancers11101540.
Abad A, Martínez-Balibrea E, Viéitez JM, Alonso-Orduña V, García Alfonso P, Manzano JL, Massutí B, Benavides M, Carrato A, Zanui M, Gallego J, Grávalos C, Conde V, Provencio M, Valladares-Ayerbes M, Salazar R, Sastre J, Montagut C, Rivera F, Aranda E. Genotype-based selection of treatment of patients with advanced colorectal cancer (SETICC): a pharmacogenetic-based randomized phase II trial. Ann Oncol. 2018 Feb 1;29(2):439-444. DOI: 10.1093/annonc/mdx737.
Additional information
Collaborative networks
- IMMUNO-model COST Action (CA21135). IMMUNO-model aims to promote research and innovation in the field of preclinical immuno-oncology models, with the ultimate goal of advancing cancer patient treatment by improving outcomes and quality of life. Dr Martínez-Balibrea is Chair of the COST Action. Video
- EORTC Pathobiology Group. Pathobiology research at EORTC aims to identify and validate biomarkers across different cancer types that can be used to develop new or more targeted treatments. Dr Martínez-Balibrea is the group's Secretary and President-Elect for the 2027-2031 term.
Doctoral theses
Title: Desxifrant UBXN7: funcions, mecanismes i impacte en microambient del glioblastoma
Author: Marta Domènech Viñolas
Supervisor: Eva Martínez Balibrea, Carme Balañà
University: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Date of defence: 18/06/2026
Title: Degradació dirigida de CDK5 en càncer colorectal: implicacions funcionals i terapèutiques en la colonització metastàtica
Author: Ferran Grau Leal
Supervisor: Eva Martinez Balibrea
University: Universitat de Barcelona
Date of defence: September 2026
Title: Study of a custom panel of CXC chemokines in the serum from metastatic CRC patients as predictive and/or prognostic biomarkers.
Author: Sara Cabrero de las Heras
Director: Eva Martínez-Balibrea
Tutor: Francesc Vinyals (UB and IDIBELL)
University: Universitat de Barcelona
Date of defence: 12/05/2023
Evaluation: Magna Cum Laude
Outreach
On 20 November 2025, the Colorectal Cancer (CRC) Task Force, coordinated by Drs Mulet and Martínez-Balibrea, in collaboration with Amics de Can Ruti, organised the event "Prevention and Current Management of Colorectal Cancer: A Clinical, Research and Musical Perspective" at the Margarida Xirgu Theatre in Badalona.
The event brought together more than 100 attendees, many of them hospital patients, and was held in a participatory discussion format. Patients, researchers (including Dr Martínez-Balibrea), nursing staff and oncologists took part in the discussion, moderated by journalist Txell Ortiz. The event concluded with a musical performance by the band Blaumut.
News
Study identifies PARG as a new target to enhance chemotherapy in colorectal cancer
A study led by researchers from the Resistance, Chemotherapy and Predictive Biomarkers group at the IGTP, published in Clinical and Translational Medicine, provides new evidence on how to improve the efficacy of one of the most widely used chemotherapy combinations in clinical practice for the treatment of colorectal cancer: 5-fluorouracil and irinotecan (FUIRI).
The CARE Annual Meeting reviews the program’s cancer research activity and sets priorities for the months ahead
The III CARE Annual Meeting, held on 5 December at BCIN, brought together the cancer research community of the Can Ruti Campus for a day focused on scientific dialogue, interdisciplinarity and future strategy.
Contact
(+34) 93 554 30 69
Cristina Queralt
(+34) 93 554 31 69
Melanie Giorgi
(+34) 93 554 31 69
More links
Donate via Amics de Can Ruti · Follow Eva Martínez Balibrea on LinkedIn · Follow IMMUNO-model COST ACTION on LinkedIn