The Organox project
Although some cancers respond well to conventional treatments such as surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, others recur as a result of metastatic spread, which is often fatal. Predicting the effectiveness of treatment remains a major challenge in colorectal cancer research.
Cancer stem cells (CSCs) within the tumour are resistant to conventional therapies, contributing to the recurrence of the disease. With a view to opening up new therapeutic avenues, a collaboration between the Centre de Recherche en Cancérologie and the Institut Lumière Matière is investigating the influence of oxygen concentration on the plasticity of CSCs and their response to anti-cancer treatments.
This innovative approach combines an ex vivo organoid culture system with advanced oxygen delivery technologies, with the aim of advancing translational research.
- On the one hand, the project explores how oxygen therapies may affect the plasticity of cancer cells, potentially improving the effectiveness of chemotherapy.
- On the other hand, it contributes to better modelling of human cancers, paving the way for more relevant testing of drugs in combination with oxygen therapy. This transdisciplinary approach offers promising prospects for rethinking therapeutic strategies against cancer.
Project leaders:
Nicolas AZNAR
His research focuses primarily on investigating the impact of the microenvironment on the fate of stem cells under pathophysiological conditions, with a particular emphasis on their role in resistance to therapies, notably in the context of colorectal cancer.
Jean-Paul RIEU
Jean-Paul Rieu is a professor of physics, co-director of the new international Master’s programme in Life Sciences at Lyon 1 Université, and head of the Biophysics team at the Institut Lumière Matière.
Throughout his career, J.-P. Rieu has been involved in fundamental research projects involving physicists, biologists, biochemists and mathematicians on a range of topics, such as the physics of spheroids and membranes, the regulation of individual and collective amoebic motility, as well as more applied and medically oriented projects in the fields of tumour-on-a-chip, sonoporation and joint biolubrication.
