Speaker: Dr. Adrià Molero Valenzuela, Pre-doctoral researcher, Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders Group. Vall d’Hebron Institut de Recerca (VHIR)

Abstract: Half of neuroblastoma (NB) patients present with metastatic disease at diagnosis, most commonly affecting bone and bone marrow (90%), lymph nodes (35%), liver (20%), or lungs (5%). Given the low mutational burden that characterizes most childhood cancers, increasing evidence suggests that epigenetic plasticity rather than genetic diversity drives NB progression and dissemination. We hypothesize that epigenetic reprogramming enables tumor cells to adapt to distinct metastatic microenvironments, conferring the phenotypic flexibility required for colonization, survival and outgrowth in distant organs. Therefore, elucidating chromatin structure alterations and the epigenetic traits underlying metastatic adaptation will deepen our understanding of disease evolution and may uncover novel therapeutic vulnerabilities.

Host: Dr. Miguel  Segura Ginard, Main researcher Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders.  Vall d’Hebron Institut de Recerca (VHIR)