Communications and Marketing
Head of Communications and Marketing
Ulrike Grönefeld
Im Neuenheimer Feld 28069120 Heidelberg
Phone: +49 6221 422854
E-Mail: u.groenefeld@dkfz.de
Press Officer
Dr. Sibylle Kohlstädt
Im Neuenheimer Feld 28069120 Heidelberg
Phone: +49 6221 422843
E-Mail: s.kohlstaedt@dkfz.de
Recent Press Releases
Mayer Foundation provides €1.5 million for research on Ewing sarcoma in children
Ewing sarcoma cells are small, round and undifferentiated. Without using mo...
© Grünewald/LMU München
In a new research consortium, scientists from the "Hopp Children's Cancer Center Heidelberg" (KiTZ), together with working groups from Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU) and the West German Cancer Centre (WTZ) of Essen University, have teamed up to advance research on Ewing sarcoma and derive approaches for novel diagnosis and therapy methods on this basis. The Gert und Susanna Mayer Stiftung will support the project by providing funds of €1.5 million over a five-year period.
The "Hopp Children's Cancer Center Heidelberg" (KiTZ) is a joint institution of the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg University Hospital (UKHD) and Heidelberg University.
Defective DNA damage repair leads to chaos in the genome
© EMBL / P. Riedinger
Scientists at the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) have now found a cause for the frequent catastrophic events in the genetic material of cancer cells that have only been known for a few years: If an important DNA repair system of the cells has failed, this promotes fragmentation and defective assembly of the genetic material. Cancer cells with such a repair defect can now possibly be treated by a specific group of drugs.
Breast cancer: Stress signaling promotes metastasis and therapy resistance
Early lung metastasis in a mouse: Red: active JNK signaling cells; green: c...
© Tsunaki Hongu/DKFZ
Scientists from the German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ) and the Heidelberg Institute for Stem Cell Technology and Experimental Medicine (HI-STEM gGmbH) have identified a central switch protein in breast cancer that promotes tumor metastasis in response to cellular stress. The switch triggers a stem cell program in the cancer cells that promotes the aggressive spread of the tumor. Chemotherapeutics also activate the switch, and this undermines therapeutic efficacy. By identifying the molecular players involved in the stress-induced spread of breast cancer, the researchers have identified previously unknown possible target structures that could be useful for the development of future therapies.
