Targeting cancer complexity at origin and progression
Our research is focused on better understanding breast cancer initiation and, from acquired knowledge, to assess targeted prevention strategies. In parallel, we study pan-cancer vulnerabilities and the connection to a rare, lung metastatic disease, lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM).
Group members
Principal investigator
Research assistant
PhD student
PhD student
PhD student
PhD student
Publications
Nat Commun. 2022 Apr 7;13(1):1895. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-29335-z. ABSTRACT Breast cancer risk for carriers of BRCA1 pathological variants is modified by genetic factors. Genetic variation in HMMR may contribute to this effect. However, the impact of risk modifiers on cancer biology remains undetermined and the biological basis of increased risk is poorly understood. Here, we depict […]
ERJ Open Res. 2022 Jan 24;8(1):00375-2021. doi: 10.1183/23120541.00375-2021. eCollection 2022 Jan. ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION: Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) is a rare low-grade metastasising disease characterised by cystic lung destruction. The genetic basis of LAM remains incompletely determined, and the disease cell-of-origin is uncertain. We analysed the possibility of a shared genetic basis between LAM and cancer, and LAM […]
Cancers (Basel). 2022 Jan 12;14(2):353. doi: 10.3390/cancers14020353. ABSTRACT BRCA2 is essential for homologous recombination DNA repair. BRCA2 mutations lead to genome instability and increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer. Similarly, mutations in BRCA2-interacting proteins are also known to modulate sensitivity to DNA damage agents and are established cancer risk factors. Here we identify the […]
Clin Cancer Res. 2022 Apr 1;28(7):1372-1382. doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-21-2846. ABSTRACT PURPOSE: Loss of TGFβ signaling increases error-prone alternative end-joining (alt-EJ) DNA repair. We previously translated this mechanistic relationship as TGFβ and alt-EJ gene expression signatures, which we showed are anticorrelated across cancer types. A score representing anticorrelation, βAlt, predicts patient outcome in response to genotoxic therapy. […]
Nature. 2021 Nov;599(7886):673-678. doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-04057-2. Epub 2021 Nov 3. ABSTRACT Immune exclusion predicts poor patient outcomes in multiple malignancies, including triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC)1. The extracellular matrix (ECM) contributes to immune exclusion2. However, strategies to reduce ECM abundance are largely ineffective or generate undesired outcomes3,4. Here we show that discoidin domain receptor 1 (DDR1), a […]
Research Projects
The group works and collaborates to decipher the systems mechanisms of cancer development and progression, with the aim of developing more precise preventive and therapeutic approaches. The group combines in silico and wet-lab studies for the purpose of identifying cancer principles and vulnerabilities.
Collaborations
CIMBA – Consortium of Investigators of Modifiers of BRCA1/2
https://cimba.ccge.medschl.cam.ac.uk/
Lobular Breast Cancer
https://lobsterpot.eu/
BRCA1 breast cancer
Khokha Lab
https://medbio.utoronto.ca/faculty/khokha
Hakem Lab
https://medbio.utoronto.ca/faculty/hakem
Maxwell Lab
https://www.bcchr.ca/cmaxwell
Serra Lab
https://vhio.net/biosketch-violeta-serra/
Cancer biology
Schramek Lab
https://schramek.lunenfeld.ca/
Li Lab
https://lilab.smhs.gwu.edu/
Barcellos-Hoff Lab
https://barcelloshofflab.ucsf.edu/principal-investigator
Cancer genetics
De Cid Lab – GCAT
http://www.gcatbiobank.org/
LAM research
Johnson Lab – LAM UK
https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/medicine/people/simon.johnson
Elżbieta Radzikowska
National Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases Research Institute, Poland
Kwiatkowski Lab
https://www.kwiatkowskilab.org/
AELAM
https://www.aelam.org/
VHIR
https://vhir.vallhebron.com/en/research/pneumology
Molina Lab
https://idibell.cat/en/research/translational-medicine-area/cardiovascular-respiratory-and-systemic-diseases-and-cellular-aging-program/pneumology/
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
Menendez’s Lab