Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Ingeborg Tinhofer-Keilholz

Scientific Scope

The Tinhofer lab mainly focuses on the elucidation of the molecular mechanisms which render head neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) resistant to radiotherapy, chemotherapy and targeted treatment. By in-depth characterization patients’ tumor tissue specimens and derived preclinical models we are aiming at the elucidation of molecular resistance mechanisms, and the development of biomarkers for improved patient stratification and personalized treatment.

A second focus is to establish liquid biopsy diagnostics for complementary analysis of blood-derived tumor markers, such as circulating tumor cells and plasma-derived cell-free nucleic acids. Here, the long-term goal is the clinical implementation of liquid biopsy assays as a minimally invasive alternative to sequential tumor tissue sampling. This will allow a more individualized selection of treatment and its early adaptation in case of lacking efficacy, and will thereby significantly contribute to improve overall outcome of HNSCC patients.

Please visit the “Labor für Strahlenbiologie” website for more detailed informations (https://radioonkologie.charite.de/forschung/labor_fuer_strahlenbiologie_und_translationale_radioonkologie/).

Selected References

• Liebs, S., Eder, T., Klauschen, F., Schütte, M., Yaspo, M.L., Keilholz, U., Tinhofer, I., Kidess-Sigal, E., Braunholz, D. (2021) "Applicability of liquid biopsies to represent the mutational profile of tumor tissue from different cancer entities." Oncogene. 2021 Aug;40(33):5204-5212.
• Hess, A.K., Jöhrens, K., Zakarneh, A., Balermpas, P., Von Der Grün, J., Rödel, C., Weichert, W., Hummel, M., Keilholz, U., Budach, V., Tinhofer, I.(2019) "Characterization of the tumor immune micromilieu and its interference with outcome after concurrent chemoradiation in patients with oropharyngeal carcinomas." Oncoimmunology. 2019 May 25;8(8):1614858. doi: 10.1080/2162402X.2019.1614858.
• Eder, T., Hess, A.K., Konschak, R., Stromberger, C., Jöhrens, K., Fleischer, V., Hummel, M., Balermpas, P., von der Grün, J., Linge, A., Lohaus, F., Krause, M., Baumann, M., Stuschke, M., Zips, D., Grosu, A.L., Abdollahi, A., Debus, J., Belka, C., Pigorsch, S., Combs, S.E., Budach, V., Tinhofer, I.; DKTK-ROG.(2019) "Interference of tumour mutational burden with outcome of patients with head and neck cancer treated with definitive chemoradiation: a multicentre retrospective study of the German Cancer Consortium Radiation Oncology Group." Eur J Cancer. 2019 Jul;116:67-76. doi: 10.1016/j.ejca.2019.04.015.
• Budach, V., Tinhofer, I.(2019) "Novel prognostic clinical factors and biomarkers for outcome prediction in head and neck cancer: a systematic review." Lancet Oncol. 2019 Jun;20(6):e313-e326. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(19)30177-9.
• Niehr, F., Eder, T., Pilz, T., Konschak, R., Treue, D., Klauschen, F., Bockmayr, M., Türkmen, S., Jöhrens, K., Budach, V., Tinhofer, I.(2018) "Multilayered Omics-Based Analysis of a Head and Neck Cancer Model of Cisplatin Resistance Reveals Intratumoral Heterogeneity and Treatment-Induced Clonal Selection." Clin Cancer Res. 2018 Jan 1;24(1):158-168.