ERC Proof of Concept Grant

With a previous ERC Starting Grant, Drost and his team discovered that restoring the activity of the gene affected in rhabdoid tumors could reverse key cancer-related characteristics in tumor cells. Drost explains: 'By reactivating the function of this gene, we observed that tumor cells stopped proliferating and began to adopt features of normal cells.' The researchers subsequently confirmed these findings using complementary molecular approaches, demonstrating that restoring gene function can have a profound effect on tumor behavior.

Thanks to the new ERC grant, the team can further investigate how this strategy might be translated into future therapeutic approaches. In doing so, the researchers aim to take an important step toward more targeted treatments for children with rhabdoid tumors, for whom treatment options remain limited in many cases.