We are pleased to announce the launch of the project titled “Algorithm for personalizing ovarian cancer treatment based on a spatial transcriptomic model of tumor tissue with single-cell resolution”, led by Dr. Mikołaj Zaborowski. This project has received funding from the FIRST TEAM program of the Foundation for Polish Science.

Ovarian cancer is a disease with a very poor prognosis. It is unclear how a patient will respond to the planned treatment. The aim of the project is to develop a test for ovarian cancer patients that will indicate which patients are likely to benefit from the available PARP inhibitor therapies, as well as suggest new drugs that could be used for those resistant to treatment.

The test developed by the project’s research team will consist of two main components. The first is an advanced, multimodal model of ovarian cancer, which will be used for a functional description of each case at the single-cell level in the molecular dimension, including RNA expression, and in the imaging dimension, describing tissue morphology. Molecular data will be generated through spatial transcriptome sequencing at single-cell resolution, while imaging data will be acquired using a high-resolution tissue scanner. Bioinformatics analysis will identify distinct cell populations present in the tumor, and an advanced mathematical framework will model the interactions between them. The second component of the test will be a predictive algorithm that will assess drug resistance and highlight the associated molecular pathways, specific cell populations, or types of interactions between them. The predictive algorithm will be developed using artificial intelligence methods based on data from the ovarian cancer model.

The results of the project have the potential to significantly improve the prognosis for patients suffering from ovarian cancer and to open new possibilities in the field of oncological therapies and personalized treatment. The developed predictive algorithm may, in the future, help minimize the occurrence of serious adverse effects associated with standard therapy and aid in qualifying patients for clinical trials by identifying alternative therapeutic targets.

The total cost of the project is 3,999,442.00 PLN, and the entire amount has been granted from the European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Funds for Modern Economy 2021-2027 program. The completion of the project is scheduled for September 2028.