🧬 From DNA repair biology to informed biologically driven treatment decisions for #BladderCancer A pleasure to welcome @mouwlab to @MSKCancerCenter Radiation Oncology Grand Rounds! Connecting tumor biology with the questions that matter: which treatment, for whom, and why. #RadOnc #GUOnc @MSK_RadOnc

A great day of collaboration, connection, and shared vision at the GBCI Fall Retreat. Thank you to everyone who joined us and contributed thoughtful ideas, meaningful discussion, and continued commitment to advancing bladder cancer research and patient care.

Had a wonderful time discussing the role of biomarkers in prostate cancer along side some amazing friends and fellow panelists! @mouwlab @ChadTangMD @DrSpratticus @ASTRO_org @ClevelandClinic @DrJohnSuh

🔬 New in Cell Press Blue: cisplatin failure in MIBC is not only a tumor cell problem. @VanAllenLab @mouwlab Carvalho et al. profiled 14 post chemo cystectomy specimens by single nucleus RNA seq plus Visium, split into tumor scar (ypT0N0) and persistent tumor (≥ypT2). 🧬 Persistent tumors run an EMT program with CD44 as the top gene. High EMT score means worse OS in a cisplatin treated cohort (HR 2.60, 95% CI 1.39 to 4.87), but no signal in treatment naive TCGA. That pattern argues for treatment related biology rather than pure prognosis. > From a pathology perspective this is not surprising: patterns reflect residual resistant tumors versus pCR and underlying molecular correlates. > in my opinion this mandates more thorough regression grading in MIBC - the current problem is that we are using a ypT system that is not reflecting non responders versus major responders in the non pCR subset. 🦠 The myeloid counterpart: a SPP1/PARP14 high macrophage subset, enriched only in persistent tumors, carrying IFN alpha, IFN gamma and DNA damage resistance signatures. Cisplatin itself upregulates PARP14 in macrophages. 📍 Spatially these TAMs occupy defined niches adjacent to KRT8 tumor domains, and the CD44 (ECM) to SPP1 interaction is confirmed by proximity ligation assay. The unit of resistance is a neighborhood, not a single cell. 💊 Functionally: PARP14 inhibitor RBN012759 plus cisplatin reduces BBN963 tumor volume beyond cisplatin alone, shifts macrophage polarization toward M1 and suppresses the EMT program. ⚠️ Limits worth stating: n = 14, variant histology excluded, sex imbalance between response groups, subcutaneous model, no macrophage specific Parp14 knockout yet. Take home for pathology: morphology and spatial context carry information that bulk profiling discards. 🎯 This also mandates as mentioned above more thorough regression grading in the future. cell.com/cell-press-blue/ful…

20 years ago, IBCG started with a small group around a table. Later this month, friends and colleagues from around the world gather in Houston for #IBCG26. Two days around the table tackling some of the hardest questions in #BladderCancer, debating the evidence and challenging each other on where we go next. Looking forward to seeing you all! @UrogerliMD @spsutkaMD @LAUrology_NL @shilpaonc @mouwlab @pjhensley11 @AndreaNecchi @AmirHorowitz @PGrivasMDPhD @karima_oualla @SimaPorten @joanfundi @marigfern

Online Now: Tumor cells recruit macrophage bodyguards to outlast chemotherapy dlvr.it/TV5zfP

Comment in @Cancer_Cell Tumor cells recruit macrophage bodyguards to outlast chemotherapy cell.com/cancer-cell/fulltex… on @CarvalhoFilipeL @cellpressblue @VanAllenLab @mouwlab cell.com/cell-press-blue/ful…

An exceptionally intense, inspiring, and challenging chapter has come to an end. From February through the end of July, I had the privilege of completing a fellowship at @DanaFarber and @MassGenBrigham affiliated with @harvardmed. These months provided me with unique knowledge and experience that I will carry forward into both my daily clinical practice and advanced research projects. Our work focused primarily on modern approaches to the treatment of prostate and bladder cancer, with particular emphasis on bladder-preserving trimodality therapy (TMT). I sincerely hope that the results of our research will soon be shared through scientific publications. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my mentors for their invaluable scientific guidance, support, and truly collaborative approach: @mouwlab, @CarvalhoFilipeL , and @ChowdhuryLab. I am also deeply grateful to @FendlerLab for his support at every stage of this journey and to @JobczykMateusz for sharing part of this remarkable adventure with us. My greatest thanks, however, go to my wife, Lena. Without her patience, perseverance, and unwavering support every single day, this experience would not have been possible. This fellowship and the research projects carried out during my stay were made possible by the Prof. Franciszek Walczak Scholarship Programme of the @NAWAPoland. I am deeply grateful for the trust placed in me and for NAWA’s commitment to supporting the development of Polish researchers. My time in Boston has been an extraordinary chapter, but it does not mark the end of our collaboration. We already have further projects ahead of us that will connect our institutions for years to come. For now, I am returning to the @umedlodz and Copernicus Memorial Hospital in Łódź with new knowledge, experience, and renewed energy for the work ahead.