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Cancer Genome Research

  • Functional and Structural Genomics
Prof. Dr. Holger Sültmann, Leiter Abteilung Krebsgenomforschung am DKFZ

Prof. Dr. Holger Sültmann

Head of Division

The evolution of tumors is accompanied by molecular alterations on genomic, epigenomic, and gene expression levels. The aims of our research are to identify these molecular changes, to translate them into the diagnosis, prognosis and prediction of cancer at therapy response, and to understand their roles in the formation and progression of tumors.

Research content Division Cancer Genome Research at DKFZ

Image: Research content Division Cancer Genome Research at DKFZ, © DKFZ, Abteilung Krebsgenomforschung

Our Research

Our research comprises the genome-wide analysis of molecular alterations in various cancer entities with an emphasis on lung and breast tumors. To this end, we apply high-throughput technologies for DNA- and RNA-sequencing in tissues and blood samples („liquid biopsy“) and use the identified molecular markers for individual risk stratification and personalized clinical management of patients based on the tumor heterogeneity in space and time. To understand the roles of these molecular alterations in tumor progression and therapy resistance, we apply cellular 3D-coculture models as well as a variety of cell- and molecular biology methods.

Cancer cells differ from normal cells by their microenvironment, altered (epi)genomes, as well as gene and protein expression. The characterization of such changes in tumors and tumor stages is essential for understanding the mechanisms of tumor progression and the definition of molecular markers for diagnosis and prognosis. Tumor heterogeneity in space and time determines therapy success and patient survival. Therefore, we concentrate on precision medicine approaches in cancer research to address the following key questions:

  • tumor risk stratification with multimodal biomarkers

  • mechanisms of tumor progression and therapy failure

  • therapy response prediction using noninvasive approaches.

Projects

Fishplot
Clonal evolution of plasma DNA variants during treatment of a lung cancer patient shown in a fishplot

Liquid Biopsy for noninvasive tumor monitoring

We have augmented and extended our liquid biopsy approaches towards the establishment and application of liquid biopsy technologies for tumor monitoring and detection of minimal residual disease (MRD). To this end, we used ca. 500 longitudinal plasma samples from ALK-fusion-positive lung cancer patients (cooperation with the Thoraxklinik Heidelberg) as a proof of principle study to:

  • determine single nucleotide variants (SNVs) and copy number variants in plasma DNA,
  • correlate molecular data with clinical parameters like oligoprogression,
  • show that the molecular lead time to progression under therapy is shorter compared to radiological lead time,
  • identify epigenomic variants to detection tumor progression and MRD.

Further resources: 

Tumoren mittels Blutprobe auf der Spur: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpGLAdQBCdk

Methods for ctDNA detection and analysis: https://youtu.be/pwK1BTlQl6w

Cooperations: 

  • Div. of Oncology, Thoraxklinik Heidelberg
  • Dept. of Pathology at Heidelberg University Medical Center
  • Div. of Gynecological Oncology, NCT Heidelberg
  • Div. of Molecular Genetics, DKFZ Heidelberg
  • Div. of Radiooncology, Heidelberg University Medical Center
  • Div. of Medical Oncology and Institute for Nutritional Medicine, University Clinic Schleswig Holstein, Campus Lübeck

Support: German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) in the funding programs German Centers for Lung Research (DZL), OUTLIVE-CRC, and SATURN3

Team

The employees in the division have experience in molecular and cell biology, medicine, or AI-supported data analysis. Our goal is to investigate therapy resistance and translate molecular markers into clinical diagnostics.

  • Prof. Dr. Holger Sültmann, Leiter Abteilung Krebsgenomforschung am DKFZ

    Prof. Dr. Holger Sültmann

    Head of Division

  • Dr. Isabell Berneburg

    Dr. Isabell Berneburg

  • Employee image

    Priv. Doz. Dr. Petros Christopoulos

  • Employee image

    Michela De Meo

  • Simay Dolaner

    Simay Dolaner

  • Sabrina Gerhardt

    Sabrina Gerhardt

  • Dr. Kate Glennon

    Dr. Kate Glennon

  • Employee image

    Myesha Jahin

  • Dr. Florian Janke

    Dr. Florian Janke

  • PD Dr. Sabine Klauck, Stellvertretende Leiterin, Abteilung Krebsgenomforschung am DKFZ

    Priv. Doz. Dr. Sabine Klauck

  • Employee image

    Dr. Astrid Laut

  • Simon Ogrodnik

    Simon John Ogrodnik

  • Employee image

    Luca Sebastian Schulte

  • Dr. Rebecca Schunk

    Dr. Rebecca Schunk

  • Employee image

    Dr. Andrey Turchinovich

Entire Team

Selected Publications

2025 - Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research

Janke, F, Gasser, M, Angeles, AK, Riediger, AL, Görtz, M, Appenheimer, L, Laut, AK, Ogrodnik, S, Gerhardt, S, Stenzinger, A, Schneider, MA, Thomas, M, Christopoulos, P, Sültmann, H

2023 - British Journal of Cancer

Angeles AK, Janke F, Daum AK, Reck M, Schneider MA, Thomas N, Christopoulos P, Sültmann H.

2022 - Clinical Epigenetics

Janke F, Angeles AK, Riediger AL, Bauer S, Reck M, Stenzinger A, Schneider MA, Muley T, Thomas M, Christopoulos P, Sültmann H.

2020 - Nature

The ICGC/TCGA Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes Consortium.

All publications

Get in touch with us

Prof. Dr. Holger Sültmann, Leiter Abteilung Krebsgenomforschung am DKFZ
Prof. Dr. Holger Sültmann
Head of Division
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