Translational UroOncology

Testicular germ cell tumors (GCTs) are the most common malignancy in young men of age 14 - 44 and develop from a defective primordial germ cell. GCTs can be stratified into seminomas and non-seminomas. Seminomas are highly similar to primordial germ cells regarding histology, epigenetics and gene expression, while a stem cell population, the embryonal carcinoma (EC), belongs to the non-seminomas and is described as a malignant counterpart to embryonal stem cells. Thus, ECs are pluripotent and able to differentiate into cells of all three germ layers and even extra-embryonic tissues.

The ‘Translational UroOncology’ focusses on deciphering molecular and epigenetic mechanisms GCT development and microenvironment-dependent reprogramming, tumor-stroma-interactions and screening for new therapeutic options for therapy-resistant GCTs.