About
This group is mostly dedicated to research on biomarkers and molecular mechanisms underlying the development and progression of malignant neoplasms. It aims to provide translational knowledge to advance the diagnosis, prognosis and prediction of a variety of human cancers.
For this purpose, the team combines both morphological (light and ultrastructural microscopy) and advanced molecular tools including next generation sequencing (NGS), high-throughput gene expression analysis, in situ hybridisation, immunohistochemistry and confocal mycroscopy; these, integrated with bioinformatics tools such as digital pathology, provide a multidisciplinary approach to cancer research.
The group of Cancer Molecular Pathology and Vulnerabilities (CAMOPAVUL) has been recognised as a Consolidated Research Group (2021SGR01490) with financial support by the Agency for Management of University and Research Grants (AGAUR) of the Government of Catalonia.
Keywords: Cancer, NGS, molecular pathology, traslational research, confocal microscopy.
Group leader
- Pedro Luis Fernández Ruiz
Pedro Luis Fernández Ruiz
Dr Fernández graduated in Medicine in 1985 and obtained his PhD by the University of Granada in 1990. He was a specialist in Anatomic Pathology at University Hospital of Granada from 1987 to 1990 and is currently head of the Department of Anatomical Pathology at Germans Trias i Pujol University Hospital in Badalona. Fernández has a long experience as university professor and also teaches and has taught in several official university masters including Biomedicine, Translational Medicine, Breast pathology, Urology and Biobanking. Fernández has also been co-coordinator of the Spanish National Biobank Network and director of the Catalan Tumour Bank network and has wide experience in tumour banking, with special interest in molecular subjects related to breast and urological cancer.
Fernández has led 14 research projects funded by public and private agencies related to breast and prostate cancer carcinogenesis as well as biobanking and is author of more than 150 peer-reviewed papers, mostly in international journals. He has directed 7 doctoral theses, the last one dealing with molecular evolution in breast cancer progression and prognosis. He also holds a patent related to a method for molecular detection of prostate cancer in biopsy samples. He has published 24 chapters in books and was in charge of the spanish traslation of the 7th edition of Robbins and Cotran Pathologic Basis of disease.
Contact: plfernandez.germanstrias(ELIMINAR)@gencat.cat
ORCID: 0000-0002-8618-4597
Team
Section heads
Cristina Carrato Moñino(ELIMINAR)
José Luís Mate Sanz(ELIMINAR)
Associate doctors
Lorena Valdivieso Almeida(ELIMINAR)
Laura Pons Martínez(ELIMINAR)
Laura Hernández León(ELIMINAR)
Alba Hernández Gallego(ELIMINAR)
Ariadna Quer Pi-Sunyer(ELIMINAR)
Gustavo Tapia Melendo(ELIMINAR)
Andrea Feu Llaurado(ELIMINAR)
Raquel López Martos(ELIMINAR)
Mireya Jimeno Ramiro(ELIMINAR)
Paula Rodríguez Martínez(ELIMINAR)
Marta Ávila Terzi (ELIMINAR)
Eva Castellà Fernández (ELIMINAR)
Juan Pablo Fernández Romero (ELIMINAR)
Ana Castillo Gandia (ELIMINAR)
Paola Luizaga Velasco(ELIMINAR)
Senior specialists in biodiagnostics
Ana Maria Muñoz Marmol(ELIMINAR)
Aintzane Urbizu Serrano(ELIMINAR)
Laura Arnaldo Orts(ELIMINAR)
Carolina Sanz Monte (ELIMINAR)
Research lines
- Breast and genitourinary neoplasms
- Lymphoid and mesenchymal neoplasms
- Respiratory tract, and head & neck neoplasms
- Digestive and hepatobiliary tract neoplasms
- Nervous and endocrine systems neoplasms, and neurodegenerative disorders
- Skin neoplasms
- Nefropathology and fetal pathology
- Molecular pathology
- Paleopathology
- Confocal microscopy
Active projects
Validación de las alteraciones genómicas en el glioblastoma: búsqueda de puntos débiles para intervención terapéutica (VAL-GLIO-THERINT)
PI: Cristina Carrato
Funding agency: Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII)
Agency code: PI21/00816
Duration: 01/01/2022 - 31/12/2024
Past projects
Molecular characterization of genomics and phenotypical patterns related to resistance to neoadjuvant therapy in triple negative and Her2 positive breast carcinomas
PI: Pedro L. Fernández
Funding agency: Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII)
Agency code: PI19/01371
Duration: 01/01/2020 - 31/12/2022
Comprehensive molecular and microspectroscopic profiling of breast carcinomas and their resistance to neoadjuvant treatment
PI: Pedro L. Fernández
Funding agency: La Marató de TV3
Agency code: 567/2019
Duration: 01/01/2020 - 31/12/2022
Análisis epigenómico integral del linfoma plasmablástico: identificación de características epigenéticas para mejorar el diagnóstico y pronóstico de los pacientes
PI: José Tomás Navarro
Funding agency: Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII)
Agency code: PI19/01588
Duration: 01/01/2020 - 31/12/2022
Scientific publications
Highlighted publications
Ordi J, Alonso PL, de Zulueta J, Esteban J, Velasco M, Mas E, Campo E, Fernández PL. The severe gout of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. N Engl J Med. 2006 Aug 3;355(5):516-20. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMon060780.
Muñoz-Mármol AM, Sanz C, Tapia G, Marginet R, Ariza A, Mate JL. MYC status determination in aggressive B-cell lymphoma: the impact of FISH probe selection. Histopathology. 2013 Sep;63(3):418-24. DOI: 10.1111/his.12178.
Celià-Terrassa T, Meca-Cortés O, Mateo F, Martínez de Paz A, Rubio N, Arnal-Estapé A, Ell BJ, Bermudo R, Díaz A, Guerra-Rebollo M, Lozano JJ, Estarás C, Ulloa C, Álvarez-Simón D, Milà J, Vilella R, Paciucci R, Martínez-Balbás M, de Herreros AG, Gomis RR, Kang Y, Blanco J, Fernández PL, Thomson TM. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition can suppress major attributes of human epithelial tumor-initiating cells. J Clin Invest. 2012 May;122(5):1849-68. DOI: 10.1172/JCI59218.
Cantero-Pérez J, Grau-Expósito J, Serra-Peinado C, Rosero DA, Luque-Ballesteros L, Astorga-Gamaza A, Castellví J, Sanhueza T, Tapia G, Lloveras B, Fernández MA, Prado JG, Solé-Sedeno JM, Tarrats A, Lecumberri C, Mañalich-Barrachina L, Centeno-Mediavilla C, Falcó V, Buzon MJ, Genescà M. Resident memory T cells are a cellular reservoir for HIV in the cervical mucosa. Nat Commun. 2019 Oct 18;10(1):4739. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-12732-2.
Pons L, Hernández L, Urbizu A, Osorio P, Rodríguez-Martínez P, Castella E, Muñoz A, Sanz C, Arnaldo L, Felip E, Quiroga V, Tapia G, Margelí M, Fernandez PL. Pre- and Post-Neoadjuvant Clinicopathological Parameters Can Help in the Prognosis and the Prediction of Response in HER2+ and Triple Negative Breast Cancer. Cancers (Basel). 2023 Jun 6;15(12):3068. DOI: 10.3390/cancers15123068.
Additional information
Collaborative networks
Proyecto Imperas
Study of the impact on survival and quality of life of the centralised review of the anatomopathological diagnosis of soft tissue sarcomas.
canSERV
Providing cutting edge cancer research services across Europe. A project within the European infrastructure for translational medicine EATRIS.
News
La Marató Foundation funds two IGTP projects on sexual and reproductive health research
The IGTP is leading an innovative project on youth sexual health and participating in a second project funded by La Marató 2023, which has enabled the promotion of 26 research projects on sexual and reproductive health, led by 52 research teams. Yesterday, these teams received their awards at an event held at TV3. Of the funded projects, 10 are individual, and 16 are coordinated between two or more research centres.
Translational Program in Cancer Research II Workshop: A hub for research and collaboration
The second CARE Workshop, held on 9-10 October, brought together more than 70 researchers from across the cancer research community at the Can Ruti Biomedical Campus for two days of scientific exchange. The event served as a platform for sharing the current cancer research being developed on the Campus and fostering stronger connections among researchers.