VIDEO | Discover the Power of Single Cell Spatial Transcriptomics in Breast and Thoracic Tumors: Focus on Endothelial and Stromal Cells

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“Well structured and informative webinar providing insights in brand new technologies by experienced people” – feedback from a participant

On 27 August 2024, the EACR hosted a webinar in collaboration with 10x Genomics, one of our valued EACR Industry Partners. We were delighted to welcome Dr Krisztian Homicsko from Lausanne University Hospital in Switzerland, who discussed stromal cells’ crucial role in tumor growth, treatment response and resistance, and how spatial transcriptomics can overcome the limitations of traditional single-cell RNA sequencing in understanding the tumor microenvironment.

Thanks to Dr Homicsko and 10x Genomics, we are able to provide free on-demand access to the full webinar recording, which can be found above. Are you currently working with single-cell RNA experiments and looking to deepen your understanding of the tumor microenvironment? This webinar is tailored for you. Dr Homicsko will guide you through the transformative capabilities of spatial single-cell RNA sequencing, showing you how it can enhance your research by providing a more comprehensive view of tumor biology.

Talk abstract

Understanding the tumor microenvironment, particularly the stromal component, is essential for advancing cancer research. The stromal cells play a crucial role in tumor growth, treatment response, and resistance. Traditional single-cell RNA sequencing often misses these critical cell types, making them hard to study.

Krisztian Homicsko will talk about how he and his team utilized the advanced Xenium platform to perform spatial single-cell RNA sequencing on breast and lung tumor samples. They worked with standard panels and developed a custom immune oncology panel with 340 markers. Complementing their approach, they also used single-nuclei RNA sequencing on FFPE samples.

Results: The team’s research reveals that spatial single-cell RNA sequencing excels at identifying and analyzing endothelial and stromal cells, which are often underrepresented in traditional methods. The methodology allows for detailed mapping of these cells, uncovering their locations, niches, and interactions within tumor samples. Additionally, their work addresses the challenges of studying non-epithelial, non-immune cells and highlights the need for more targeted markers and segmentation techniques.

Key Takeaways

• Learn how spatial transcriptomics can overcome the limitations of traditional single-cell RNA sequencing.
• Discover the specific advantages of the Xenium platform for studying endothelial and stromal cells.
• Gain insights into the practical applications of these techniques in cancer research.
• Understand the challenges and solutions in analyzing non-epithelial, non-immune cells.

Speaker

Dr Krisztian Homicsko, Head of Clinic in Medical Oncology, Lausanne University Hospital CHUV, Switzerland

Dr. Homicsko’s research investigates the role of normal cells that form the tumor microenvironment and are recruited into tumors by cancer cells, how they modify the response to different therapies, and how they can be manipulated to improve current treatments.

Early phase clinical studies to test new therapeutic combinations against brain tumors, metastatic melanomas and head and neck cancers are being conducted.

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