On Monday 19 May at 13:00, Ester Ellegaard Sørensen defends her PhD dissertation entitled "Germline and somatic structural variants as biomarkers in colorectal cancer".

A new PhD project from Aarhus University, Health, investigates how large genomic variants contribute to the heterogeneity of colorectal cancer and evaluates the potential of these variants as biomarkers for patient stratification and recurrence detection.

Colorectal cancer can develop very differently from patient to patient, even when tumors appear similar. Understanding what drives this variability is key to improving treatment and follow-up. Among the possible contributors to these differences are structural variants - large changes in the genome that can be inherited (germline) or arise in cancer cells (somatic). These variants have long been difficult to study due to technical and analytical challenges, but recent advances in genome sequencing are starting to unlock their potential.

In this project, whole genome sequencing was used to explore how structural variants influence gene activity, disease progression, and the ability to detect cancer recurrence through blood samples. The results suggest that both inherited and tumor-specific structural variants can help explain differences in patient outcomes—and may serve as powerful tools for early detection and personalized treatment strategies.

The summary is written by the PhD student.

The defence is public and takes place in the Auditorium, Department of Molecular Medicine (MOMA), Brendstrupgårdsvej 21A, 8200 Aarhus N. Please see the press release for more information. 

Contact

PhD student Ester Ellegaard Sørensen
Mail: e.ellegaard@clin.au.dk
Phone: (+45) 23747797

Read full press release