Detail

Keywords

Anatomic Variation; Anatomy; Autophagy; Chemoradiotherapy; Chemotherapy resistance; Free Tissue Flaps; Head and Neck Neoplasms; Mandibular Reconstruction; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; Microsurgery; Neck Dissection; Oncology; Organoids; Primary Cell Culture; Receptors, Interleukin-6; Reconstructive Surgical Procedures; Spheroids, Cellular; Translational Medical Research

Research group(s)

• Basic Oncology Research in Head and Neck Cancer
  Members:
  Gregor Heiduschka
  Sam Augustine Kandathil
  Victoria Stanek
• Hirtler Lab
  Head: Lena Hirtler
  Research Area: The members of this research group address a wide range of anatomical and clinical-morphological questions. Starting from classical anatomical and histological evaluations to clinical applications, e.g. minimally invasive surgery and imaging procedures, research questions are processed by the use of state-of-the-art techniques. Apart from stand-alone projects, the group is characterized by collaborations with a variety of partners to tackle currently relevant issues in clinical practice.
  Members:
  Sam Augustine Kandathil
  Lena Hirtler

Research interests

• Translational research
• patient-derived head and neck sqamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) culture (cultivating and engineering HNSCC-organoids and spheroids)
• patient-derived xenografts (PDX)
• organoid-derived grafts (ODX)
• 4-NQO mouse model
• Tumor microenvironment (TME)
• influence of TME on cancer chemo- and radioresistance
• Autophagy
• role of autophagy in cancer development and response to chemo- and radiotherapy
• Extracellular matrix (ECM)
• creating scaffolds and hydrogels derived from animals and humans for in vitro applications
• influence of ECM on HNSCC tumor progression and invasion
• Thin section histology
• Methylmethacrylat-based histology to analyse implant-tissue-interactions

Techniques, methods & infrastructure

• Thin-section histology (Division of Anatomy)
• Endoscopic surgery (Division of Anatomy)
• Microscopic surgery (Surgical microscope at Division of Anatomy)
• Cell Culture (Biosafety 2 Lab, Department of Otorhinolaryngology)

Grants

• Targeting autophagy and evaluation of its effect in head and neck cancer spheroids (2023)
  Source of Funding: Margarethe Hehberger Stiftung, Malignant Diseases
  Principal Investigator

Selected publications

1. Varatanovic, S. et al. (2023) ‘In vitro effects of gamma-secretase inhibition in HPV-positive and HPV-negative head and neck squamous cell carcinoma’, Investigational New Drugs, 41(2), pp. 193–201. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10637-023-01334-x. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/.
2. Bauer, S.A., Kandathil, S.A. and Hirtler, L. (2023) ‘Peroneus tertius revisited: The morphological variability of the bifurcated peroneus tertius insertion – An anatomical study’, Annals of Anatomy - Anatomischer Anzeiger, 250, p. 152164. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aanat.2023.152164. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/.