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Metabolism and cancer
Menendez’s Lab

DESCRIPTION

Unlocking the metabolic secrets of cancer: Our “Metabolism and Cancer” team studies how cellular metabolism drives cancer growth, drug resistance, and metastasis. We use cutting-edge laboratory experiments, computational tools and clinical trials to validate our discoveries in cancer patients.

MAIN RESEARCH LINES

  1. CANCER METABOLISM

    Metabolic inhibitors for cancer therapy

    • Metabolic mechanisms of tumorigenesis & drug resistance
    • Clinical development of anti-cancer metabolic drugs

    Mitochondria, senescence, and cancer

    • Mitochondria-based elimination of tumor-/metastasis-initiating cells
    • Metabolic therapy-induced senescence (MTIS)

    Metabolo-immunotherapy

    • Tumor cell-intrinsic immunometabolism 
    • Metabolic/dietary interventions and immunotherapy 
  2. BIOCOMPOUNDS
    • Natural biocompounds for cancer treatment
  3. COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY & CHEMISTRY
    • Mathematical modeling of cancer
    • Computational design of anti-cancer metabolic drugs

Javier A. Menendez

Group leaders

IP

Elisabet Cuyàs

Researchers

Established researcher (Miguel Servet)

Eila Serrano Hervás

Researchers

Postdoctoral researcher (INVESTIGO)

Sara Verdura

Researchers

Predoctoral researcher

Àngela Llop Hernández

Young investigators

Predoctoral researcher

Júlia López

Young investigators

Predoctoral researcher

Begoña Martín Castillo

Researchers

Established researcher (Unit of Clinical Research, ICO-Girona)

Eugeni López Bonet

Researchers

Established researcher (Hospital Trueta)

Mitochondrial bioenergetics-SASP crosstalk determines senolytic efficacy in therapy-induced senescence

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Cell Death Discov. 2026 Feb 19. doi: 10.1038/s41420-026-02967-6. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT Mitochondria integrate senescence and apoptotic fates, yet it is unclear whether their ability to oxidize different fuels for energy production influences their vulnerability to senolytics in therapy-induced senescence (TIS). Using MitoPlates™ technology, we functionally mapped the mitophenotypes of TIS cancer cells by […]

Mitochondrial priming in therapy-induced senescence: implications for CAR-T/NK immunosenolytic therapy

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Front Immunol. 2025 Nov 7;16:1695244. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1695244. eCollection 2025. ABSTRACT Therapy-induced senescence (TIS) generates an immunogenic state in cancer cells by altering how they present antigens, produce cytokines, and organize their surfaceome. TIS can be exploited for therapeutic purposes using “immunosenolytic” strategies, including adoptive cellular therapies such as chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-engineered T and natural […]

The STAT3/TIMP1 inhibitor silibinin overcomes secondary immunoresistance to pembrolizumab in brain metastases from METex14 skipping mutated non-small cell lung cancer: a case report

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Front Med (Lausanne). 2025 Jul 9;12:1612327. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1612327. eCollection 2025. ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Approximately 20% of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are diagnosed with brain metastases (BM), which are associated with poor prognosis. Pembrolizumab has shown promising results in advanced NSCLC with PD-L1 ≥ 50%, including patients with BM. Silibinin is a flavonolignan with […]

Metabolic hallmarks of trastuzumab resistance

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Expert Opin Ther Targets. 2025 Jul 11. doi: 10.1080/14728222.2025.2532394. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION: The HER2-targeted monoclonal antibody trastuzumab has significantly improved the survival of patients with HER2-positive breast cancer (HER2+ BC) in both early and metastatic disease. Therapeutic resistance remains an inevitable challenge in the advanced setting, ultimately limiting the long-term efficacy of […]

RETRACTED: Cejuela et al. Metformin and Breast Cancer: Where Are We Now? Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23, 2705

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Int J Mol Sci. 2025 Jun 5;26(11):5407. doi: 10.3390/ijms26115407. ABSTRACT The journal retracts the article titled “Metformin and Breast Cancer: Where Are We Now […]. PMID:40508236 | DOI:10.3390/ijms26115407

Ruth Lupu | Mayo Clinic, Rochester, USA

Pilar Blancafort | Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, Perth, Australia

Francesca Cutruzzolà | Sapienza University, Rome, Italy

Tomás Alarcón | ICREA-Centre de Recerca Matemàtica (CRM), Reus, Spain

Sílvia Osuna | ICREA-Institut de Química Computacional i Catàlisi (IQCC), Girona, Spain

Josep Sardanyés | Centre de Recerca Matemàtica (CRM), Barcelona, Spain

José Antonio Encinar | Universidad Miguel Hernández, Elche, Spain

Vicente Micol | Universidad Miguel Hernández, Elche, Spain

Antonio Segura-Carretero | Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain

Jorge Joven | Institut d’Investigació Sanitària Pere Virgili (IISPV), Reus, Spain

Carlos Peña Garay | Laboratorio Subterráneo de Canfranc (LSC), Spain

Menendez grup. Research group photo
Program Against Cancer Therapeutic Resistance

CONTACT US

Campus IDIBELL
(L’Hospitalet del Llobregat)
Hospital Duran i Reynals, Gran Via 199,
L’Hospitalet del Llobregat,
Barcelona 08908
Tel. +34 93 260 7952

Campus IGTP-IJC
(Badalona)
Campus Can Ruti – IGTP – Building Muntanya,
Rd. Can Ruti, Camí de les escoles s/n,
Badalona, Barcelona 08916
Tel. +34 93 554 3069

Campus IDIBGI
(Girona)
Parc Hospitalari Martí i Julià de Salt, Dr. Castany s/n,
Salt, Girona 17190
Tel. +34 872 987 087

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