About
The Childhood Liver Oncology Group (c-LOG) is a pioneering group focused on translational research of paediatric liver cancer in Spain. Its main goals are to increase the molecular knowledge of hepatoblastoma, the main liver cancer in children and an extremely rare disease, in order to understand why these tumours arise in children and to identify biomarkers and therapeutic targets to improve quality of life and survival of patients with primary liver cancer, including hepatocellular carcinoma (the main liver cancer in adults).
In order to boost translational research into childhood liver cancer, in 2010 the group created the first national collection of biospecimens from patients with liver cancer called CLCN (ISCIII National Biobank Registry, collection section, ref. C.0000226). The collection also includes samples from adult patients diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma, cirrhosis and chronic hepatitis. This has been possible thanks to the research group's participation within the first Pediatric Hepatic International Tumor Trial (PHITT) and collaborations with more than 100 European hospitals, including the Germans Trias i Pujol University Hospital. The CLCN collection is the basis of the research lines of our team.
Group Leader
Research lines
Understanding the molecular biology of childhood liver cancer
Using the latest high-throughput technologies (i.e. RNA-sequencing, proteomic profiling, methylation array, whole genome sequencing) and computational tools, one of the group’s main interests is to improve the knowledge of rare and highly aggressive forms of childhood liver cancer that are resistant to current therapies to identify therapeutic targets and design more effective therapies.
Identification and validation of diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers to improve the clinical management of childhood liver cancer
We are assessing >200 biomarkers in diagnostic samples from a prospective cohort of European patients enrolled in the first Paediatric Hepatic International Tumour Trial (PHITT). Our final aim is to improve current clinical stratification with biological parameters and improve the clinical management of childhood liver cancer.
Establishing new experimental models of childhood liver cancer
We are establishing patient-derived xenografts and patient-derived organoids to test innovative therapies against different tumour subtypes.
Active projects
Individualized Pediatric Cure, iPC
Funding agency: H2020 Grant Agreement
Agency code: 826121
Start date: 2019
End date: 2023
Hub d'innovació pediàtrica - I4KIDS
Funding agency: Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca (AGAUR)
Agency code: 2021-XARDI-00006
Start date: 2023
End date: 2026
Precision medicine for hepatoblastoma: identification of novel therapies and predictive biomarkers using a unique EU biorepository
Funding agency: Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer (AECC)
Agency code: PRYCO223102ARME
Start date: 2022
End date: 2027
Identificación de dianas moleculares para terapias innovadoras del hepatoblastoma
Funding agency: Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBEREHD)
Start date: 2022
End date: 2024
Translational research group in hepatic pathology and innate immunity
Funding agency: Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca (AGAUR)
Agency code: 2021-SGR-01186
Identification of predictive Biomarkers and novel biology-driven Therapies for Childhood Liver Cancer patients using a unique EU biorepository
Funding agency: Fight Kids Cancer (FKC) BT4ChildLC
Start date: 2023
End date: 2025
Proteomic profiling of tumors from poor-prognosis childhood liver cancer patients
Recipient: Álvaro del Rio Alvarez
Funding agency: FI-AGAUR
Agency code: 2021FI_B 00528
Start date: 01/04/22
End date: 31/03/2025
Scientific publications
Fang J, Singh S, Cheng C, Natarajan S, Sheppard H, Abu-Zaid A, Durbin AD, Lee HW, Wu Q, Steele J, Connelly JP, Jin H, Chen W, Fan Y, Pruett-Miller SM, Rehg JE, Koo SC, Santiago T, Emmons J, Cairo S, Wang R, Glazer ES, Murphy AJ, Chen T, Davidoff AM, Armengol C, Easton J, Chen X, Yang J.Nat Commun. 2023 Jul 6;14(1):4003. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-39717-6. PMID: 37414763.
Clavería-Cabello A, Herranz JM, Latasa MU, Arechederra M, Uriarte I, Pineda-Lucena A, Prosper F, Berraondo P, Alonso C, Sangro B, García Marin JJ, Martinez-Chantar ML, Ciordia S, Corrales FJ, Francalanci P, Alaggio R, Zucman-Rossi J, Indersie E, Cairo S, Domingo-Sàbat M, Zanatto L, Sancho-Bru P, Armengol C, Berasain C, Fernandez-Barrena MG, Avila MA.J Hepatol. 2023 Jun 9:S0168-8278(23)00405-1. DOI: 10.1016/j.jhep.2023.05.031. Online ahead of print. PMID: 37302584.
Sanchez-Moral L, Paul T, Martori C, Font-Díaz J, Sanjurjo L, Aran G, Téllez É, Blanco J, Carrillo J, Ito M, Tuttolomondo M, Ditzel HJ, Fumagalli C, Tapia G, Sidorova J, Masnou H, Fernández-Sanmartín MA, Lozano JJ, Vilaplana C, Rodriguez-Cortés A, Armengol C, Valledor AF, Kremer L, Sarrias MR.EBioMedicine. 2023 May;91:104555. DOI: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2023.104555. Epub 2023 Apr 11.PMID: 37054630.
Mosca N, Khoubai FZ, Fedou S, Carrillo-Reixach J, Caruso S, Del Rio-Alvarez A, Dubois E, Avignon C, Dugot-Senant N, Guettier C, Mussini C, Zucman-Rossi J, Armengol C, Thiébaud P, Veschambre P, Grosset CF. LIM Homeobox-2 Suppresses Hallmarks of Adult and Pediatric Liver Cancers by Inactivating MAPK/ERK and Wnt/Beta-Catenin Pathways. Liver Cancer. 2021 Dec 21;11(2):126-140. DOI: 10.1159/000521595. PMID: 35634422; PMCID: PMC9109075.
Corujo D, Malinverni R, Carrillo-Reixach J, Meers O, Garcia-Jaraquemada A, Le Pannérer MM, Valero V, Pérez A, Del Río-Álvarez Á, Royo L, Pérez-González B, Raurell H, Acemel RD, Santos-Pereira JM, Garrido-Pontnou M, Gómez-Skarmeta JL, Pasquali L, Manyé J, Armengol C, Buschbeck M. MacroH2As regulate enhancer-promoter contacts affecting enhancer activity and sensitivity to inflammatory cytokines. Cell Rep. 2022 Jun 21;39(12):110988. DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.110988. PMID: 35732123.
Li Q, Demir S, Del Río-Álvarez Á, Maxwell R, Wagner A, Carrillo-Reixach J, Armengol C, Vokuhl C, Häberle B, von Schweinitz D, Schmid I, Cairo S, Kappler R. Targeting the Unwindosome by Mebendazole Is a Vulnerability of Chemoresistant Hepatoblastoma. Cancers (Basel). 2022 Aug 30;14(17):4196. DOI: 10.3390/cancers14174196. PMID: 36077733; PMCID: PMC9454988.
Abril-Fornaguera J, Torrens L, Andreu-Oller C, Carrillo-Reixach J, Rialdi A, Balaseviciute U, Pinyol R, Montironi C, Haber PK, Del Río-Álvarez Á, Domingo-Sàbat M, Royo L, Akers NK, Willoughby CE, Peix J, Torres-Martin M, Puigvehi M, Cairo S, Childs M, Maibach R, Alaggio R, Czauderna P, Morland B, Losic B, Mazzaferro V, Guccione E, Sia D, Armengol C, Llovet JM. Identification of IGF2 as Genomic Driver and Actionable Therapeutic Target in Hepatoblastoma. Mol Cancer Ther. 2023 Apr 3;22(4):485-498. DOI: 10.1158/1535-7163.MCT-22-0335. PMID: 36780225; PMCID: PMC10073300.
Outreach
"The Little Scientist" is a small tale written and illustrated to learn about the important role of children with liver cancer in C-LOG’s research. It is meant for families and patients with liver cancer. Translations into Spanish, Catalan, French and Polish are on their way!
In case you are interested in the dissemination activites of the cLOG team including meetings with families of children with liver cancer and parent's associations, please contact us!
News
Promising new treatment for childhood liver cancer
A preclinical study with support from the Spanish Association Against Cancer has identified a potential treatment approach for patients with hepatoblastoma, which involves combining standard chemotherapy with a drug currently undergoing clinical trials. The research was conducted using patient samples and animal and laboratory models, and has been led by Dr Josep M. Llovet, professor at the UB and group leader at IDIBAPS, and Dr Carolina Armengol, group leader at IGTP and member of CIBEREHD.
Women’s Day: giving our women scientists a voice
To commemorate International Women's Day, we asked four questions to different profiles of IGTP researchers to find out about the difficulties they have encountered as women scientists and how they see the future: Dr Carolina Armengol, leader of the consolidated Childhood Liver Oncology Research Group (c-LOG), Dr Raquel Guillamat, junior leader of the emerging group Translational Research in Pulmonary Immunity, and PhD student Daina Martínez from the ICREC laboratory of Cardiology Research.
Contact
Carolina Armengol
(+34) 93 554 30 72