About us
With the advent of the post-genomic era, it has been possible to uncover the molecular profile of many types of cancer. The analysis of cancer transcriptome has revealed the existence of distinct molecular subtypes in apparently identical tumor lesions which correlate with a heterogeneous response to treatment and metastatic potential. Some genetic and epigenetic alterations were also found to be able to distinguish these subtypes and characterize them more functionally, thus explaining, at least in part, their clinical and pathological heterogeneity. Therefore, cancer transcriptome analysis can be an effective strategy for identifying the molecular mechanisms of cancer progression and for the development of tumor biomarkers which improve early cancer diagnosis and foster the development of more effective treatments.
In such realm, our laboratory uses a combination of genomic, computational and functional approaches to analyze cancer transcriptome and to identify biomarkers to better understand the molecular mechanisms of tumor progression and improve diagnosis and prognosis.
Studied Pathologies: Solid tumors
Name: Fabrizio Bianchi
University and Training: MSc in Biological Sciences (University of Milan), PhD in molecular and biological sciences (University of Milan).
Work Experience: He worked as postdoctoral fellow at the FIRC Institute for Molecular Oncology (IFOM), Milan (Italy), and then at the Program of Molecular Medicine of the European Institute of Oncology (Milan). He was a visiting scientist at the Nuffield Department of Clinical and Laboratory Sciences at University of Oxford. Since 2016 he has been the Head of the Cancer Biomarkers Unit at the Research Hospital (IRCCS) Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza. He has several years of research experience in the fields of cancer genomics and biomarkers development, particularly in the field of circulating miRNAs, cancer gene expression profile and computational biology. He has contributed to the identification of a serum circulating miRNA-signature for lung cancer early detection, which was patented and transferred to a SME (Gensignia Ltd). He is inventor of international patents regarding diagnostic and prognostic tools for lung cancer screening (US8747867B2; US20150057159A1; US20160068913A1). He is an active member of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), the European Association for Cancer Research (EACR), the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC), the Italian Society for Cancer Research (AIRC), and the Italian Society of Cancerology (SIC), where he holds the positions of secretary and member of the steering committee.
Scientific Area of Interest: Transcriptome of solid cancer and cancer biomarkers
Collaborations: Istituto Europeo di Oncologia (IEO, Milan, Italy), IRCCS San Raffaele (Milan), University of Milan, Istituto di Nanotecnologia – CNR in Lecce (Italy), Roma Tre University (Rome, Italy), University of Navarra (Spain), Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (USA).
Publications
Total number of publications from 2011: n. 42
List of publications (Most relevant):
- Colangelo T, Carbone A, Mazzarelli F, Cuttano R, Dama E, Nittoli T, Albanesi J, Barisciano G, Forte N, Palumbo O, Graziano P, di Masi A, Colantuoni V, Sabatino L, Bianchi F*, Mazzoccoli G*. Loss of circadian gene Timeless induces EMT and tumor progression in colorectal cancer via Zeb1-dependent mechanism. Cell Death Differ. 2022 Jan 15. doi: 10.1038/s41418-022-00935-y. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35034102. * co-last authorship
- Dama E, Colangelo T, Fina E, Cremonesi M, Kallikourdis M, Veronesi G, Bianchi F. Biomarkers and Lung Cancer Early Detection: State of the Art. Cancers (Basel). 2021 Aug 3;13(15):3919. doi: 10.3390/cancers13153919. PMID: 34359818; PMCID: PMC8345487.
- Melocchi V, Dama E, Mazzarelli F, Cuttano R, Colangelo T, Di Candia L, Lugli E, Veronesi G, Pelosi G, Ferretti GM, Taurchini M, Graziano P, Bianchi F. Aggressive early-stage lung adenocarcinoma is characterized by epithelial cell plasticity with acquirement of stem-like traits and immune evasion phenotype. Oncogene. 2021 Aug;40(31):4980-4991. doi: 10.1038/s41388-021-01909-z. Epub 2021 Jun 25. PMID: 34172935.
- Barisciano G, Colangelo T, Rosato V, Muccillo L, Letizia Taddei M, Ippolito L, Chiarugi P, Galgani M, Bruzzaniti S, Matarese G, Fassan M, Agostini M, Bergamo F, Pucciarelli S, Carbone A, Mazzoccoli G, Colantuoni V, Bianchi F*, Sabatino L*. miR-27a is a master regulator of metabolic reprogramming and chemoresistance in colorectal cancer. Br J Cancer. 2020 Mar 5. doi: 10.1038/s41416-020-0773-2. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 32132656. * co-last authorship
- Lusito E, Felice B, D'Ario G, Ogier A, Montani F, Di Fiore PP, Bianchi F. Unraveling the role of low-frequency mutated genes in breast cancer. Bioinformatics. 2018 Jun 29. doi: 10.1093/bioinformatics/bty520
- Monterisi S, Lo Riso P, Russo K, Bertalot G, Vecchi M, Testa G, Di Fiore PP, Bianchi F. HOXB7 overexpression in lung cancer is a hallmark of acquired stem-like phenotype. Oncogene. 2018 Jun;37(26):3575-3588. doi: 10.1038/s41388-018-0229-9.
- Dama E, Melocchi V, Dezi F, Pirroni S, Carletti RM, Brambilla D, Bertalot G, Casiraghi M, Maisonneuve P, Barberis M, Viale G, Vecchi M, Spaggiari L, Bianchi F*, Di Fiore PP*. An Aggressive Subtype of Stage I Lung Adenocarcinoma with Molecular and Prognostic Characteristics Typical of Advanced Lung Cancers. Clin Cancer Res. 2017 Jan 1;23(1):62-72. doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-15-3005. * co-last authorship
- Montani F, Bianchi F. (2016) Circulating Cancer Biomarkers: The Macro-revolution of the Micro-RNA. EBioMedicine. 2016 Feb 28;5:4-6. doi: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2016.02.038. eCollection 2016 Mar.
- Montani, F., Marzi, M., Dezi, F., Dama, E., Carletti, R., Bonizzi, G., Bertolotti, R., Bellomi, M., Rampinelli, C., Maisonneuve, P., Spaggiari, L., Veronesi, G., Nicassio, F., Di Fiore, PP., Bianchi, F. (2015) miR-Test: a blood test for lung cancer early detection, Journal of the National Cancer Institute 107(6), doi:10.1093/jnci/djv063
- Bianchi F, Nicassio F, Marzi M, Belloni E, Dall'olio V, Bernard L, Pelosi G, Maisonneuve P, Veronesi G, Di Fiore PP. A serum circulating miRNA diagnostic test to identify asymptomatic high-risk individuals with early stage lung cancer. EMBO Mol Med. 2011 Aug;3(8):495-503. doi: 10.1002/emmm.201100154.
Start Year: 2020
Funding period: 5 years
Funding entity: Associazione Italiana Ricerca sul Cancro (AIRC). Codice progetto: Investigator Grant id.22827
Project Leader: Dr. Fabrizio Bianchi
Principal Investigator: Dr. Fabrizio Bianchi
Start Year: 2020
Funding period: 3 anni
Funding entity: Ministero della Salute. Codice progetto: GR-2019-12370460
Project Leader: Dr.Tommaso Colangelo
Principal Investigator: Dr. Tommaso Colangelo
Start Year: 2019
Funding period: 3 anni
Funding entity: Ministero della Salute. Codice progetto: GR-2016-02363975
Project Leader: Fabrizio Bianchi
Principal Investigator: Dr. Fabrizio Bianchi
Start Year: 2018
Funding period: 3+1 anni
Funding entity: ERA-NET
Project Leader: Giulia Veronesi (Ospedale San Raffaele, Milano)
Principal Investigator: Dr. Fabrizio Bianchi
Project Team: Giulia Veronesi (Ospedale San Raffaele, Milano), Fabrizio Bianchi, Thomas Dandekar (University of Würzburg), Witold Rzyman (Medical University of Gdansk), Patrizia Paterlini-Brechot (University Paris Descartes), Philippe Lambin (Maastricht University), Harry De Koning (Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam).
Equipe
Dr. Tommaso Colangelo (t.colangelo@operapadrepio.it)
Staff Scientist:
Elisa Dama (e.dama@operapadrepio.it)
PhD students:
Francesco Mazzarelli (f.mazzarelli@operapadrepio.it)
Fellow:
Kuku Afanga (k.afanga@operapadrepio.it)
Technician:
Patricia Kiptiu (p.kiptiu@operapadrepio.it)
Undergraduate student:
Rosa Maria Perrone
- Cancer Biomarkers
- Cancer Stem Cells
- Hematopathology
- Advanced Therapies Production Unit
- Endocrinology
- Hepatology
- Medical genetics
- Geriatrics and gerontology
- Hemostasis and thrombosis
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