
Translational Oncology
Research interests
The ultimate goal of our team is to attack tumors globally, not only targeting tumor cells but also their plasticity ability and controlling their interactions within the tumor niche, which are key players in the development of resistances in cancer.
- Identification of new therapeutic vulnerabilities and development of combined therapies in breast and ovarian cancer: new therapies screening (PI. Alberto Ocaña)
From genetic studies, we identify alterations as overexpression of some genes that indicate a worse prognosis and that can be treated with new compounds as specific and selective inhibitors.
On the other hand, based on therapies already used in breast and ovarian cancer, we try to establish a possible synergistic relationship with new compounds that may be beneficial in clinical practice.
Our group has worked extensively in the evaluation of protein kinase inhibitors in breast cancer, mainly in triple negative tumors, and ovarian cancer identifying active drugs with great potential for clinical development.
2. Resistance to anticancer drugs (PI. Eva M. Galán Moya and Alberto Ocaña)
Frequently, tumors are or end up being refractory to chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments, which makes them more invasive and more susceptible to have a worse prognosis.
Using a range of cells lines displaying different intrinsic sensibility and cell models with acquired resistance to drugs currently used in the clinic, established through a pulsed strategy, our group carries out proliferation and survival studies with new drugs to find mechanisms that reverse or overcome the resistance of these cells.
Proteolysis targeting chimeric (PROTAC) are novel compounds that promote protein degradation by binding to a ubiquitin ligase. In this research line, we also explore the antitumoral activity of novel PROTACs in resistant tumors.
3. Cancer cell plasticity and tumor microenvironment (PI. Eva M. Galán Moya).
For the past four decades, cancer research has been governed by a reductionist view of the disease. Most research has focused on studying tumor cells, ignoring the other components of the tumor. However, tumors behave like dynamic structures that require interaction with the surrounding environment, called the “tumor microenvironment” (TM), in order to grow. This microenvironment seems to play a key role in the behavior of tumors and, through the activation of certain signaling pathways, could be responsible for their aggressiveness and response to treatments. In addition, not all cancer cells are alike. Conversely, tumors display a high heterogeneity and usually comprise a population with higher plasticity and stemness properties known as cancer initiating cells (CIC), which usually are refractory to anti-cancer strategies. CIC constantly communicate with TM, and this communication might be responsible, at least in part, of the stemness potential of these cells and its intrinsic resistance.
Our team, using fresh samples of tumor and peritumoral tissue from patients with ovarian and breast cancer, has designed models for the study of the TM ex vivo. These models are being used not only to study the interactions between the different players, but also to test antitumor compound in a more physiological context, what is of interest for the design of combined therapies aiming tumor cell within its tumor niche in a global manner.
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Funding
- Título: Identificación y validación de nuevas dianas terapéuticas en cáncer de mama triple negativo mediante el uso de un modelo de microambiente tumoral mamario ex vivo. SBPLY/19/180501/000173.
Entidad financiadora: Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha.
Tipo de proyecto: coordinado
Coordinador e Investigador Principal, IP1: EM. Galán Moya
IP2: Alberto Ocaña
Fecha inicio: 01/01/2020; fecha fin: 10/03/2023
Cuantía: 116.712 €.
- Título: Targeting triple-negative and HER2-positive breast cancer with BET inhibitors and PROTACs. PI19/00808.
Entidad financiadora: Instituto de Salud Carlos III.
Investigador principal: Alberto Ocaña.
Fecha inicio 01/01/2020; fecha fin 31/12/2022.
Cuantía: 117.370 €.
- Título: Estudio de la influencia del nicho adiposo en la iniciación, progresión y resistencia a fármacos en cáncer. DIPUAB17GALANMOYA
Entidad financiadora: Diputación de Albacete.
Investigador Principal: EM. Galan Moya.
Fecha inicio: 01/01/2017; fecha fin: 31/12/2017
Cuantía: 8.000 €.
- Título: Identificación de vulnerabilidades en cáncer de mama triple negativo: análisis de la heterogeneidad clonal de subpoblaciones tumorales. PI16/01121.
Entidad financiadora: Instituto de Salud Carlos III.
Investigador principal: Alberto Ocaña.
Fecha inicio 01/01/2017; fecha fin 31/12/2019.
Cuantía: 142.285 €.
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Publications
Rojas K, Baliu-Piqué M, Manzano A, Saiz-Ladera C, García-Barberán V, Cimas FJ, Pérez-Segura P, Pandiella A, Győrffy B, Ocana A.
Cell Oncol (Dordr). 2021 Jan 19. doi: 10.1007/s13402-020-00583-9. PMID: 33469836
Nieto-Jimenez C, Alcaraz-Sanabria A, Martinez-Canales S, Corrales-Sanchez V, Montero JC, Burgos M, Nuncia-Cantarero M, Pandiella A, Galan-Moya EM*, Ocaña A*.
Int J Mol Sci. 2020 Nov 27;21(23):9034. doi:10.3390/ijms21239034.
PMID: 33261142
Cimas FJ, Niza E, Juan A, Noblejas-López MDM, Bravo I, Lara-Sanchez A, Alonso-Moreno C, Ocaña A.
Pharmaceutics. 2020 Oct 19;12(10):986. doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics12100986.
PMID: 33086530
Cimas FJ, Manzano A, Baliu-Piqué M, García-Gil E, Pérez-Segura P, Nagy Á, Pandiella A, Győrffy B, Ocana A.
Cancers (Basel). 2020 Aug 11;12(8):2243. doi: 10.3390/cancers12082243.
PMID: 32796628
Nieto-Jimenez C, Galan-Moya EM*, Corrales-Sanchez V, Noblejas-Lopez MDM, Burgos M, Domingo B, Montero JC, Gomez-Juarez M, Picazo-Martinez MG, Esparis-Ogando A, Pandiella A, Ocaña A*.
Cancer Lett. 2020 Oct 28;491:50-59. doi: 10.1016/j.canlet.2020.06.020. PMID: 32735909
Santiago JL, Galan-Moya EM, Muñoz-Rodriguez JR, de la Cruz-Morcillo MA, Redondo-Calvo FJ, Gracia-Fernandez I, Elias PM, Perez-Ortiz JM, Man MQ.
Chin J Integr Med. 2020 Nov;26(11):812-818. doi: 10.1007/s11655-020-3086-7. PMID: 32418180
Perez-Ortiz JM, Galan-Moya EM, de la Cruz-Morcillo MA, Rodriguez JF, Gracia I, Garcia MT, Redondo-Calvo FJ.
Int J Mol Sci. 2020 Apr 16;21(8):2766. doi: 10.3390/ijms21082766.
PMID: 32316312
Serrano-Oviedo L, Nuncia-Cantarero M, Morcillo-Garcia S, Nieto-Jimenez C, Burgos M, Corrales-Sanchez V, Perez-Peña J, Győrffy B, Ocaña A, Galán-Moya EM.
Cell Oncol (Dordr). 2020 Jun;43(3):431-444. doi: 10.1007/s13402-020-00497-6. PMID: 32166583
Corrales-Sánchez V, Noblejas-López MDM, Nieto-Jiménez C, Pérez-Peña J, Montero JC, Burgos M, Galán-Moya EM, Pandiella A, Ocaña A.
J Cell Mol Med. 2020 Mar;24(5):3117-3127. doi: 10.1111/jcmm.14980.
PMID: 32032474
Alcaraz-Sanabria A, Baliu-Piqué M, Saiz-Ladera C, Rojas K, Manzano A, Marquina G, Casado A, Cimas FJ, Pérez-Segura P, Pandiella A, Gyorffy B, Ocana A.Front Oncol. 2020 Jan 10;9:1486. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2019.01486. eCollection 2019.PMID: 31998644
Noblejas-López MDM, Nieto-Jiménez C, Morcillo García S, Pérez-Peña J, Nuncia-Cantarero M, Andrés-Pretel F, Galán-Moya EM, Amir E, Pandiella A, Győrffy B, Ocana A.
Oncoimmunology. 2019 Jul 3;8(10):e1629780. doi: 10.1080/2162402X.2019.1629780. PMID: 31646075
Activity of BET-proteolysis targeting chimeric (PROTAC) compounds in triple negative breast cancer.
Noblejas-López MDM, Nieto-Jimenez C, Burgos M, Gómez-Juárez M, Montero JC, Esparís-Ogando A, Pandiella A, Galán-Moya EM*, Ocaña A*.
J Exp Clin Cancer Res. 2019 Aug 30;38(1):383. doi: 10.1186/s13046-019-1387-5.
PMID: 31470872
Morcillo-Garcia S, Noblejas-Lopez MDM, Nieto-Jimenez C, Perez-Peña J, Nuncia-Cantarero M, Győrffy B, Amir E, Pandiella A, Galan-Moya EM, Ocana A.
PLoS One. 2019 Apr 16;14(4):e0209134. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0209134. PMID: 30990809
Mapping Bromodomains in breast cancer and association with clinical outcome.
Pérez-Pena J, Páez R, Nieto-Jiménez C, Sánchez VC, Galan-Moya EM, Pandiella A, Győrffy B, Ocana A.
Sci Rep. 2019 Apr 5;9(1):5734. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-41934-3.
PMID: 30952871
Noblejas-López MDM, Morcillo-García S, Nieto-Jiménez C, Nuncia-Cantarero M, Győrffy B, Galan-Moya EM*, Pandiella A, Ocaña A*.
PLoS One. 2018 Nov 28;13(11):e0207776. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0207776. PMID: 30485330
Martínez-Canales S, López de Rodas M, Nuncia-Cantarero M, Páez R, Amir E, Győrffy B, Pandiella A, Galán-Moya EM*, Ocaña A*.
Cancer Med. 2018 May;7(5):1896-1907. doi: 10.1002/cam4.1406. PMID: 29575713
Nuncia-Cantarero M, Martinez-Canales S, Andrés-Pretel F, Santpere G, Ocaña A, Galan-Moya EM.
Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2018 Apr;168(3):613-623. doi: 10.1007/s10549-017-4652-3.
PMID: 29330624
Synthetic Lethality Interaction Between Aurora Kinases and CHEK1 Inhibitors in Ovarian Cancer.
Alcaraz-Sanabria A, Nieto-Jiménez C, Corrales-Sánchez V, Serrano-Oviedo L, Andrés-Pretel F, Montero JC, Burgos M, Llopis J, Galán-Moya EM, Pandiella A, Ocaña A.
Mol Cancer Ther. 2017 Nov;16(11):2552-2562. doi: 10.1158/1535-7163.MCT-17-0223.
PMID: 28847989
Martínez-Canales S, Cifuentes F, López De Rodas Gregorio M, Serrano-Oviedo L, Galán-Moya EM, Amir E, Pandiella A, Győrffy B, Ocaña A.
PLoS One. 2017 May 4;12(5):e0175128. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0175128. PMID: 28472085
Nieto-Jiménez C, Alcaraz-Sanabria A, Pérez-Peña J, Corrales-Sánchez V, Serrano-Heras G, Galán-Moya EM, Serrano-Oviedo L, Montero JC, Burgos M, Llopis J, Pandiella A, Ocaña A.
Oncotarget. 2017 Mar 21;8(12):19478-19490. doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.14465.
PMID: 28061448
Eva M. Galán-Moya
Group Leader
Investigadora del Plan Propio de la Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha
Profesora colaboradora del Grado de Enfermería y del Máster de Biomedicina Experimental de la UCLM
Central: (+34) 967 599 200 Extension: 8274
Personnel
Staff researchers
- Eva M. Galán-Moya (EvaMaria.Galán@uclm.es)
- Alberto Ocaña (Co-director, Alberto.Ocana@uclm.es)
Postdoctoral Researchers
- Miguel Burgos Lozano (Miguel.Burgos@uclm.es)
- Ana L. Alcaraz Sanabria (AnaLucia.Alcaraz@uclm.es)
PhD Students
- Miriam Nuncia Cantarero (Miriam.Nuncia@alu.uclm.es)
- Mar Noblejas López (MariadelMar.Noblejas@uclm.es)
- Sandra Martinez Canales (Sandra.Martinez21@alu.uclm.es)
- David Tébar Garcia (David.Tebar@uclm.es)
- Raquel López Rosa (Raquel.LRosa@uclm.es)
Collaborating clinicians
- Esther Sánchez López, Cirugía CHUA
- Ana Sánchez, Cirugía CHUA
- Rosa Barbella, Anatomía Patológica CHUA
- Virginia Adamoli, Anatomía Patológica CHUA
Technician-Lab Manager
- Elena Garcia Gil
Bioinformatician
- Fernando Andrés Pretel
Students
- Verónica Benito Patón, TFM Medicina Experimental
- Javier Cano Gregorio, TFM Medicina Experimental
- Olaya Menasalvas Cañadilla, TFG Farmacia
- Antonio Bru Jimenez, TFG Medicina
Direcciones y teléfonos


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