CURIONI-FONTECEDRO Alessandra
Professor/in
Gruppe Curioni: Labor für angewandte Krebsforschung
The Laboratory of Applied Cancer Research (LACR) at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland conducts cutting-edge cancer biology research. Our team of researchers is dedicated to understanding the fundamental mechanisms of cancer development and progression, with a goal to develop novel therapeutic approaches to treat cancer. Our scientific interests include tumor immunology, cancer genomics, and precision medicine.
Our research focuses on thoracic malignancies, specifically lung cancer and mesothelioma, along with the associated metastasis. Our research interest is targeted at the following topics:
Mechanisms of resistance to immunotherapy
Not all patients benefit from newly created immunotherapies, and those who do eventually become resistant to the treatment. The mechanisms underlying response and resistance remain unclear. It can be assumed that the tumor microenvironment (TME) plays a significant role in inducing treatment resistance. We concentrate on the detailed characterization of the tumor microenvironment (TME) at both molecular and cellular levels, examining the interactions within the TME and their contribution to treatment resistance.
Understanding Immune Suppression in Solid Tumors
Solid tumors frequently exhibit immune-suppressive signatures, characterized by cellular and molecular pathways that inhibit protective immune responses against cancer. At LACR, we are aiming to elucidate immune-suppressive pathways to develop novel immune-enhancing treatments for solid tumors, including lung cancer, mesothelioma, and liver cancer.
To identify new targeted therapies for the treatment of mesothelioma
Immunomodulatory molecules expressed by tumor cells may serve a dual role, acting both as oncogenes and as modulators of immune responses at the tumor site. Our objective is to identify novel drug targets using extensive in vitro screening methods. The molecules of interest will subsequently undergo further evaluation for therapeutic efficacy both in vitro and in vivo.
Core expertise
Apart from routine lab techniques, LACR employs advanced tools and techniques to achieve its research objectives. Our expertise includes the application of the Cell Dive System for multiplex spatial digital image analysis and the routine use of the Cytek Aurora for spectral flow cytometry. Furthermore, we collaborate with multiple national and international institutions for advanced Omics studies and bioinformatics analysis.
Mitglieder
Publikationen
Characterization of hypermetabolic lymph nodes after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination using PET-CT derived node-RADS, in patients with melanoma
Alexander Maurer, Antonio G. Gennari, Alexia Rossi, Thomas Sartoretti, Stephan Skawran, Valerie Treyer, Elisabeth Sartoretti, Alessandra Curioni-Fontecedro, Moritz Schwyzer, Michael Messerli, Stephan Waelti, Martin W. Huellner, Scientific Reports (2023)
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Clinically Significant Distress and Physical Problems Detected on a Distress Thermometer are Associated With Survival Among Lung Cancer Patients
Jan Ben Schulze, Larissa Durante, Moritz Philipp Günther, Anna Götz, Alessandra Curioni-Fontecedro, Isabelle Opitz, Roland von Känel, Sebastian Euler, Journal of the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry (2023)
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Extended resection for potentially operable patients with stage III non–small cell lung cancer after induction treatment
Katarzyna Furrer and Walter Weder and Eric Innocents Eboulet and Daniel Betticher and Miklos Pless and Roger Stupp and Thorsten Krueger and Jean Yannis Perentes and Ralph A. Schmid and Didier Lardinois and Markus Furrer and Martin Früh and Solange Peters and Alessandra Curioni-Fontecedro and Rolf A. Stahel and Sacha I. Rothschild and Stefanie Hayoz and Isabelle Opitz, The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery (2022)
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Frequency and temporal evolution of COVID-19 vaccination rate among oncological patients undergoing 18F-FDG-PET
Stephan Skawran and Helen Schiesser and Alexander Maurer and Thomas Sartoretti and Manuel Dittli and Cäcilia Mader and Alessandra Curioni-Fontecedro and Christoph Berger and Martin W. Huellner and Michael Messerli, Vaccine (2022)
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Genomic landscape of pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma tumours
Stefanie Hiltbrunner, Zoe Fleischmann, Ethan S. Sokol, Martin Zoche, Emanuela Felley-Bosco, Alessandra Curioni-Fontecedro, British Journal of Cancer (2022)
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Mutational Landscape and Expression of PD-L1 in Patients with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Harboring Genomic Alterations of the MET gene
Alessa Fischer, Lorenz Bankel, Stefanie Hiltbrunner, Markus Rechsteiner, Jan H. Rüschoff, Elisabeth Jane Rushing, Christian Britschgi, Alessandra Curioni-Fontecedro, Targeted Oncology (2022)
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Diagnostic Value of Fully Automated Artificial Intelligence Powered Coronary Artery Calcium Scoring from 18F-FDG PET/CT
Claudia Morf and Thomas Sartoretti and Antonio G. Gennari and Alexander Maurer and Stephan Skawran and Andreas A. Giannopoulos and Elisabeth Sartoretti and Moritz Schwyzer and Alessandra Curioni-Fontecedro and Catherine Gebhard and Ronny R. Buechel and Philipp A. Kaufmann and Martin W. Huellner and Michael Messerli, Diagnostics (2022)
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A prognostic score for patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) receiving second-line immunotherapy or chemotherapy in the ETOP 9–15 PROMISE-meso phase III trial
Giuseppe Luigi Banna and Alfredo Addeo and Panagiota Zygoura and Zoi Tsourti and Sanjay Popat and Alessandra Curioni-Fontecedro and Ernest Nadal and Riyaz Shah and Anthony Pope and Patricia Fisher and James Spicer and Amy Roy and David Gilligan and Oliver Gautschi and Wolf-Dieter Janthur and Rafael López-Castro and Heidi Roschitzki-Voser and Urania Dafni and Solange Peters and Rolf A. Stahel, Lung Cancer (2022)
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