Tumor angiogenesis group
Casanovas’ Lab

DESCRIPTION

Mechanisms of resistance to antiangiogenic therapies.
Therapeutic studies in Kidney Cancer murine models, both PDOX and syngenic.
Therapeutic studies in pancreatic NeuroEndocrine tumors.
Discovery of non-invasive biomarkers in clinical trials with antiangiogenics.

Our research group at the ProCURE Program (Catalan Institute of Oncology) and OncoBell Program (IDIBELL) is focused on determining the consequences of adaptation and resistance to anti-angiogenic cancer therapy. For that we use translational research in murine models of cancer, particularly Kindey Cancer PDOX models and NeuroEndocrine transgenic models to study in vivo mechanisms of adaptation to anti-angiogenics, and validate our findings using clinical samples from our hospital and collaborating institutions.
Our scientific achievements have been published in prestigious journals in the field of cancer research with numerous “preview”, “highlight” or commentary articles in high impact scientific journals. Furthermore, we have an important international position in the field of antitumor therapies and angiogenic resistance mechanisms.

Group members

Felix-Joan Peix

Young investigators

Laura Puigròs

Young investigators

Jessica Videira

Young investigators

Maria Del Mar Martinez Lozano

Support staff

Irene Ortiz-Rubio

Researchers

Laura Bernaus

Support staff

Publications

Antagonistic SMAD2/3 control of TIMP-1, VEGF-A, and hypoxia signaling in myofibroblasts shapes histotype-specific angiogenesis in lung cancer

30 de March de 2026/in Casanovas's Lab/by

Cell Death Dis. 2026 Mar 30. doi: 10.1038/s41419-026-08677-2. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) exhibits disparate responses to anti-angiogenic therapies between its two major histologic subtypes, lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) and squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC), suggesting a histotype-dependent angiogenesis regulation. Tumor-associated fibroblasts (TAFs) exhibit an activated/myofibroblast-like phenotype in NSCLC, and are emerging […]

White paper on best practices for translational research in neuroendocrine neoplasms

28 de July de 2025/in Casanovas's Lab/by

J Neuroendocrinol. 2025 Jul 28:e70072. doi: 10.1111/jne.70072. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT Basic and translational investigations play a crucial role in advancing our understanding of neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs). In this white paper by the Basic and Translational Research Group of the European Neuroendocrine Tumor Society, we discuss the qualities and drawbacks of current disease models […]

Radiomics and outcome prediction to antiangiogenic treatment in advanced gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumours: findings from the phase II TALENT trial

8 de November de 2024/in Casanovas's Lab/by

BJC Rep. 2023 Aug 2;1(1):9. doi: 10.1038/s44276-023-00010-0. ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: More accurate predictive biomarkers in patients with gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumours (GEP-NETs) are needed. This study aims to investigate radiomics-based tumour phenotypes as a surrogate biomarker of the tumour vasculature and response prediction to antiangiogenic targeted agents in patients with GEP-NETs. METHODS: In this retrospective study, a […]

Prediction of the response to antiangiogenic sunitinib therapy by non-invasive hybrid diffuse optics in renal cell carcinoma

18 de October de 2024/in Casanovas's Lab/by

Biomed Opt Express. 2024 Sep 6;15(10):5773-5789. doi: 10.1364/BOE.532052. eCollection 2024 Oct 1. ABSTRACT In this work, broadband diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and diffuse correlation spectroscopy (DCS) were used to quantify deep tissue hemodynamics in a patient-derived orthotopic xenograft mouse model of clear cell renal cancer undergoing antiangiogenic treatment. A cohort of twenty-two mice were treated […]

Neoadjuvant sunitinib plus exemestane in post-menopausal women with hormone receptor-positive/HER2-negative early-stage breast cancer (SUT_EXE-08): a phase I/II trial

9 de October de 2024/in Casanovas's Lab/by

Sci Rep. 2024 Oct 9;14(1):23626. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-72152-1. ABSTRACT Neoadjuvant endocrine therapy (NET) for hormone receptor-positive (HR+) breast cancer might be as effective as chemotherapy, with a better toxicity profile. Blocking a crucial process such as angiogenesis with sunitinib may have a synergistic effect with NET. We aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of neoadjuvant […]

Research Projects

MICIU PID2022-142386OB-I00 Disección de los mecanismos de Plaquetas y genes de Coagulación en la metástasis del Cancer de Riñón Oriol Casanovas 325.000,00 €PREP2022-000672 Disección de los mecanismos de Plaquetas y genes de Coagulación en la metástasis del Cancer de Riñón Oriol Casanovas 111.758,00 €
Proyecto PID2022-142386OB-I00 financiado por MCIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 y por FEDER, UE
MTV3 201910-30 Identification of Kidney Cancer progression targets and biomarkers through CRISPRengineered organoids and xenograft mouse models Oriol Casanovas 136.250,00 €
MICIU PID2019-107557RB-I00 Targeteando la Coagulación en la formación de metástasis en cáncer renal Oriol Casanovas 145.200,00 €
Proyecto PID2019-107557RB-I00 financiado por MICIU/AEI /10.13039/501100011033
AGAUR 2021 SGR 01289 Interacció Tumor Estroma i Resistència Terapèutica – ITERT Oriol Casanovas 40.000,00 €

Tech Transfer Projects
MICIU CPP2023-010718 Opening a New Era in Hepatocellular Carcinoma by a Novel Blood Biomarker for Individual Selection of Treatment (PersonalHCC) Oriol Casanovas 514.874,00 €
Proyecto CPP2023-010718 financiado por MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 y por FEDER, UE.
AGAUR 2022 DI 00052 Inhibiting Cannibalism to Fight Resistant Tumors Oriol Casanovas 33.960,00 €
MICIU PDC2021-121308-I00 Desarrollo de un nuevo biomarcador y su ‘kit’ prototipo para predecir la Respuesta Agresiva en Cancer Oriol Casanovas 132.250,00 €
Proyecto PDC2021-121308-I00 financiado por MCIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 y por la Unión Europea NextGenerationEU/ PRTR
ISCIII DTS21/00163 Angiotheragnostics: Desarrollo de un nuevo tratamiento con su biomarcador de selección de pacientes para pacientes con cáncer colorectal avanzado. Oriol Casanovas 149.600,00 €

Collaborations

International:
Douglas Hanahan, ISREC

Gabriele Bergers, KULeuven

Masahiro Inoue, Univ.Osaka

Kristian Pietras, Karolinska I.

Enrico Giraudo, IRCC

Stefano Indraccolo, IOV

National:

Joan Carles, VHIO

Cristina Suárez, VHIO

Maria Ochoa, ICO

August Vidal, HUB

Ramon Salazar, ICO

X García del Muro, ICO

Tumor angiogenesis groupCasanovas’ Lab

DESCRIPTION

Felix-Joan Peix

Young investigators

Laura Puigròs

Young investigators

Jessica Videira

Young investigators

Maria Del Mar Martinez Lozano

Support staff

Irene Ortiz-Rubio

Researchers

Laura Bernaus

Support staff

Tech Transfer Projects

CONTACT US

Tumor angiogenesis group
Casanovas’ Lab