Cancer Stem Cells Profiling
Under the supervision of Dr. Debayan Gupta (Department of Computer Science), researchers are exploring the role of tumour-resident stem cells, or cancer stem cells (CSCs), in driving treatment resistance and tumour recurrence. These cells, a highly adaptable subgroup within tumours, pose significant challenges for conventional therapies, making their identification a critical area of study.
Existing methods for detecting CSCs struggle with scalability, reproducibility, and consistency across cancer types. To overcome these limitations, the team is employing machine-learning techniques to analyse bulk RNA sequencing (RNAseq) data. In a study of patient samples across 22 cancer types, their approach has uncovered clinical, transcriptomic, and immunological signatures associated with distinct CSC states. These findings offer new insights into cancer progression and potential therapeutic interventions, marking a step forward in precision oncology.
