The most tormenting problem after the surgical removal of cancer is the development of metastases, which are commonly incurable and the most important cause for cancer related death. Therefore, our research focuses on the potential progenitor cells of metastasis to identify cancer patients with high risk for development of metastasis and to discover new therapeutic strategies.
These potential metastatic progenitor cells can be traced as rare cancer cells in the blood as circulating tumor cells (CTCs) or as disseminated tumor cells (DTCs) within the indicator organs bone marrow and lymph nodes. We believe that these rare cells, which are not detectable by standard diagnostics, provide us with relevant prognostic information and help to guide more effective therapeutic strategies. According to our working hypothesis, therapies adjusted on these cancer cells should be highly successful, since these cells represent the actual targets for systemic cancer therapies.