Cancer Biology

Treating (advanced) cancers successfully requires understanding the specifics of cancer biology. Without that knowledge, the targeting of tumors and metastases and minimizing “bystander effects” is not possible. During the last decades, the community of cancer researchers has discovered that tumors are not just a growing mass of cells, but highly differentiated and often behave in many ways like another organ in the body, consisting of complex tissues that interface with the entire host organism. Cancer stem cells are often able to escape during classic tumor therapies that target fast growing cells, ultimately causing cancer relapse. The researchers in our department work toward understanding what makes cancers different from healthy tissue and how to take advantage of this therapeutically. We are the basic research department of KUMC with an emphasis on translating our results into the clinic and the lives of cancer patients.