The Department of Thoracic Surgery of the Inselspital Bern conducts basic or laboratory research in collaboration with the University Lung Cancer Center, the Department of BioMedical Research of the University of Bern, and partner clinics. Under the direction of PD Dr. Patrick Dorn, our research groups focus on stem cell research related to tissue regeneration and cancer, with the goal of developing new treatments for chronic lung diseases, with particular emphasis on lung cancer and malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Thoracic cancers include lung cancer, thymic carcinoma, tracheal tumors, and mesothelioma. Thoracic carcinomas are the most common cause of cancer-related deaths. The 5-year survival rate is ~30% for lung cancer and 5-10% for mesothelioma. This is mainly due to difficulties in early detection and a lack of effective treatments, so more effective treatment options are urgently needed. It has been postulated that tumor initiation, chemotherapy resistance, and metastases are mediated by cancer stem cells. Cancer stem cells have been described in both lung cancer and mesothelioma.
 

The overall goal of the Thoracic Surgery Laboratory is to study how cancer cells adapt to intrinsic and extrinsic stress through mechanisms of plasticity and through heterogeneity. Specifically, we aim to comprehensively expand our knowledge of cancer stem cells and the associated molecular mechanisms underlying tumorigenesis, therapy resistance, and metastasis of thoracic malignancies, thereby making an important contribution to our long-term goal of developing better treatment strategies for cancer patients.