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Professor Francesco Crea
Professional biography
Degrees
2006 MD (cum laude), University of Pisa
2010, PhD (cum laude), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies
Training
2008-2009 Guest Scientist, Cancer Stem Cell Section, National Cancer Institute at Fredercik, USA
2012-2015 Post Doctoral Fellow, BC Cancer Agency (Canada).
Awards:
2015 American Society of Clinical Oncology Merit Award
2015 Multi Institutional Prostate Cancer Meeting \Poster Award
2014 Prostate Cancer Foundation BC post-doctoral Award
2013 Michael Smith Foundation Trainee Award
Editorial Board Memberships:
Epigenomics (Senior Editor); Frontiers in Oncology
Research interests
Non-coding RNAs (NC-RNAs). NC-RNAs represent a vast and largely unexplored area of the human transcriptome (Crea et al. Cancer and Met Rev 2014). We have studied the role of micro-RNAs and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in prostate cancer progression. In particular, we have identified LINC00261 as a driver of neuroendocrine prostate cancer (Mather et al Mol Oncol 2021). We are currently developing therapeutic strategies to target oncogenic lncRNAs.
Cancer Epigenetics. We have explored the role of epigenetic effectors as novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets in human neoplasms.
1) We have demonstrated that an EZH2 (Polycomb) inhibitor effectively kills prostate cancer stem cells in vitro and in vivo. Based on this and similar results, EZH2-targeting drugs are being investigated in clinical trials. (Crea et al. Mol Cancer 2011; Crea et al, Crit Rev Hemat Oncol. 2012 )
2) We have identified and functionally characterized an EZH2 genetic variant that accurately predicts prognosis in colorectal cancer patients (Crea et al. Ann Oncol 2012; Fornaro et al. Ann Oncol 2012; Fornaro et al BMC Cancer 2015).
3) We are working with the company Volition to develop personalised treatments based on circulating epigenetic signatures (Salani et al, Epigenomics 2022)
The epigenetic/non-coding interactome. Based on our results and on other studies, we have proposed a new paradigm of cancer progression. We show evidence supporting the idea that an epigenetic/non-coding interactome drives key features of cancer progression, including drug resistance and metastatic spreading (Crea et al. Trends Mol Med 2015).
Full list of Publications: https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=nFGqiygAAAAJ&hl=en
Internal Collaborators: Prof. Nacho Romero (non-coding RNAs and metastatic tropism; lncRNAs in ageing); Dr. Martin Bootman (calcium-dependent prostate cancer progression), Dr Jon Golding (cancer radio-resistance).
Teaching interests
OU modules
I exploit my research experience in cancer biology, epigenetics and non-coding RNAs to enrich the OU students' learning journey and to make sure that we teach the latest and most important developments in these fields. We are also working on new assets that develop the students' analytic skills and their understanding of human diseases.
SK299 (Human Biology)
S294 (Cell Biology)
S211 (Paramedic Practice).
S317 (from Genes to Species)
S290 (investigating Human Health and Disease)
Post-graduate students' and PDRA supervision: Auma Kalu (PhD student); Ella Waters (PhD student); Priyadarsini.Gangadharannambiar (PhD student), Sameer Ayaz (PhD student); Maryam Latarani (MPhil student); David Roig-Carles (primary supervisor); Stephen Chandler (PhD student, co-supervisor since 10/16; previously on Work Experience Placement); Perla Pucci (PhD student, primary supervisor); Eduardo Frias (PhD student, co-supervisor); Ester Pascual-Baixauli (Visiting Student); Roberto Silvestri (Visiting Student); Najara Juan Larrea (Erasmus+ MSc); Tyra Antoine, Roger Silva and Holly Jackson (Visiting research students). Rebecca Mather (PRDA).
Impact and engagement
In collaboration with the BC Cancer Agency, we are currently developing new therapeutic and diagnostic tools for prostate cancer. These new technologies are based on the discovery and characterization of previously unknown long non-coding RNAs.
External collaborations
Dr Benedetto Grimaldi (IIT)
Dr Mario P Colombo (Istituto Italiano Tumori)
Dr Helen Fillmore Portsmouth University
Prof Gianluca Masi (Univrirt of Pisa)
International links
Prof Yuzhuo Wang, BC Cancer Agency (Canada)
Prof Alfredo Falcone, University of Pisa (Italy)
Dr. Luca Quagliata, University of Basel (Switzerland)
Dr Paolo Frumento (Sweden)
Externally funded projects
Copy of Measuring molecular markers in plasma samples (extra income DEC 23)
| Role | Start date | End date | Funding source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lead | 01 Feb 2024 | 31 Jan 2025 | Pisan University Hospital |
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most frequent form of liver cancer. Inoperable HCC is treated with the kinase inhibitor sorafenib, an expensive drug sometimes associated with severe side effects. Currently, there is no way of predicting which HCC patients will benefit from sorafenib treatment. Histone modifications are epigenetic marks that are often deregulated in cancer cells. We have previously shown that specific histone modifications drive cancer cell resistance to therapies. Our industrial partner Volition has developed assays to measure circulating cancer-derived histones from tiny amounts of serum or plasma samples. In this project, we will use these assays to identify a circulating epigenetic signature that predicts HCC patients’ response to sorafenib. | |||
Measuring molecular markers in plasma samples (extra income)
| Role | Start date | End date | Funding source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lead | 02 Mar 2022 | 31 Dec 2025 | Pisan University Hospital |
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most frequent form of liver cancer. Inoperable HCC is treated with the kinase inhibitor sorafenib, an expensive drug sometimes associated with severe side effects. Currently, there is no way of predicting which HCC patients will benefit from sorafenib treatment. Histone modifications are epigenetic marks that are often deregulated in cancer cells. We have previously shown that specific histone modifications drive cancer cell resistance to therapies. Our industrial partner Volition has developed assays to measure circulating cancer-derived histones from tiny amounts of serum or plasma samples. In this project, we will use these assays to identify a circulating epigenetic signature that predicts HCC patients’ response to sorafenib. | |||
NMDA receptor targeting: a new therapeutic strategy for incurable prostate cancers
| Role | Start date | End date | Funding source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Co-investigator | 01 Oct 2021 | 30 Sep 2025 | Belgian Volition SRL |
Recent genomic and histopathological analyses have shown that up to 17% of castration-resistant prostate adenocarcinomas (PCas) develop neuroendocrine (NE) features [1]. This trans-differentiation induces complete androgen-independence and promotes metastatic spreading. NE-PCas are currently incurable and associated with a dismal prognosis (median survival shorter than 1 year). Therefore, there is a dire need for the identification of effective therapeutic targets for this aggressive malignancy. Calcium dynamics govern key aspects of cellular phenotypes, including tissue specification, motility and proliferation. Notably, calcium-dependent alterations are reversible and targetable by small molecule inhibitors. Increasing evidence suggests that the alteration of calcium dynamics affects the initiation and progression of some malignancies. For example, we have shown that T-type calcium channels drive the proliferation of castration-resistant PCa [2]. However, the calcium signalling toolkit is organised in a complex network of interacting molecules. This interactome has never been explored systematically in the context of a specific malignancy. In this project, we propose to study the role of calcium-dependent genes in NE-PCa pathogenesis, with the ultimate goal of identifying new therapeutic targets | |||
NMDA receptor targeting: a new therapeutic strategy for incurable prostate cancers
| Role | Start date | End date | Funding source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Co-investigator | 01 Oct 2021 | 30 Sep 2025 | Fraser McDonald |
Recent genomic and histopathological analyses have shown that up to 17% of castration-resistant prostate adenocarcinomas (PCas) develop neuroendocrine (NE) features [1]. This trans-differentiation induces complete androgen-independence and promotes metastatic spreading. NE-PCas are currently incurable and associated with a dismal prognosis (median survival shorter than 1 year). Therefore, there is a dire need for the identification of effective therapeutic targets for this aggressive malignancy. Calcium dynamics govern key aspects of cellular phenotypes, including tissue specification, motility and proliferation. Notably, calcium-dependent alterations are reversible and targetable by small molecule inhibitors. Increasing evidence suggests that the alteration of calcium dynamics affects the initiation and progression of some malignancies. For example, we have shown that T-type calcium channels drive the proliferation of castration-resistant PCa [2]. However, the calcium signalling toolkit is organised in a complex network of interacting molecules. This interactome has never been explored systematically in the context of a specific malignancy. In this project, we propose to study the role of calcium-dependent genes in NE-PCa pathogenesis, with the ultimate goal of identifying new therapeutic targets. | |||
Development of H19-targeting antisense oligonucleotides for DIPG therapy
| Role | Start date | End date | Funding source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lead | 01 Feb 2020 | 31 Jan 2021 | Abbie's Army |
Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) is the most frequent paediatric brainstem malignancy, and it is invariably associated with a dire prognosis [1]. DIPG is characterized by diffuse infiltrative growth patterns and by an invasive phenotype that underpins its inadequate response to both pharmacological and surgical treatments. DIPG response to radio- or chemo- and targeted therapies is short lived at best. Hence, it is of paramount importance to identify new targets for the development of effective therapies. The genomic landscape of DIPG has been recently described as an heterogenous collection of mutations and copy number variations in protein-coding genes. The most frequent mutation occurs at histone H3 lysine 27 (H3K27M) resulting in widespread epigenetic deregulation. Despite intensive research, no effective protein-targeting therapy has been developed for DIPG. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are non-protein coding transcripts longer than 200bp. For several decades, lncRNAs have been considered non-functional transcriptional noise. Recent deep sequencing data have revealed that lncRNAs represent a vast and largely uncharted region of the human transcriptome (more than 50,000 unique loci, 100nMol), broad CNS distribution and rapid cellular uptake. Antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) are clinically approved molecules that target and silence specific RNA sequences. Our group has shown that antisense ASOs can efficiently target oncogenic lncRNAs. In this project, we will to develop lncRNA-targeting ASOs to stop DIPG proliferation, with the final goal of developing personalised therapies for this incurable disease | |||
Measuring molecular markers in plasma samples
| Role | Start date | End date | Funding source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lead | 01 Oct 2019 | 31 Dec 2021 | Pisan University Hospital |
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most frequent form of liver cancer. Inoperable HCC is treated with the kinase inhibitor sorafenib, an expensive drug sometimes associated with severe side effects. Currently, there is no way of predicting which HCC patients will benefit from sorafenib treatment. Histone modifications are epigenetic marks that are often deregulated in cancer cells. We have previously shown that specific histone modifications drive cancer cell resistance to therapies. Our industrial partner Volition has developed assays to measure circulating cancer-derived histones from tiny amounts of serum or plasma samples. In this project, we will use these assays to identify a circulating epigenetic signature that predicts HCC patients’ response to sorafenib. | |||
Epigenetic enrichment of circulating tumour DNA to enable deep profiling for cancer early detection (EpiEnrich)
| Role | Start date | End date | Funding source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lead | 01 Jan 2019 | 31 Mar 2020 | CRUK Cancer Research UK;EPSRC Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council;STFC Science & Technology Facilities Council |
Circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) contains valuable information for the early detection and stratification of prostate cancer. Current methodologies are unable to capture ctDNA with sufficient efficacy. This project aims to employ cancer-specific histone post-transnational modifications to enrich ctDNA from the plasma of cancer patients. We will initially use pre-clinical models to optimize the technique. If we are successful, we intend to apply for follow-up funds to test our application in the clinics. The OU (F Crea, Joint Lead applicant) is part of a multi-disciplinary team: PI (Charlie Massie, Cambridge). Other academics involved as CoI/joint applicants: Nick Leslie (Heriot-Watt), Pedro Estrela (Bath), Tingting Zhu (Oxford), Paul Milner (Leeds). | |||
Long non-coding RNAs implicated in neuroendocrine prostate cancer initiation and progression: novel therapeutic targets for an incurable disease.
| Role | Start date | End date | Funding source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lead | 01 Dec 2016 | 31 Oct 2020 | CRUK Cancer Research UK |
Neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC) is the most aggressive prostate cancer type. This disease is resistant to all available therapies, highly metastatic and rapidly fatal. We believe that the elucidation of NEPC-driving pathways could pave the way for the development of effective therapies. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a vast and mostly uncharted region of the human transcriptome. Despite their emerging role in cancer biology, no study has assessed the relevance of lncRNAs in NEPC development. Our collaborator Dr. Wang (BC Cancer Agency) has developed a unique collection of patient-derived prostate cancer models. This collection includes the first-in-field model of transdifferentiation from prostatic adenocarcinoma to NEPC. Aims. We propose to study the role of lncRNAs in NEPC development. The objectives of this study are to determine: 1) whether transcriptomic profiles of lncRNAs in PCa pre-clinical models can elucidate the mechanisms of NEPC development. 2) if selected lncRNAs are promising therapeutic targets for NEPC. Accordingly, our specific aims will be: AIM 1: Identification, functional and clinical characterization of NEPC-driving lncRNAs. AIM 2: Development of innovative therapeutic strategies to prevent NEPC development. At the end of this project, we hope to shed new light on an incurable disease, and to identify viable therapeutic targets, which will be investigated in future translational and clinical studies. | |||
Publications
Journal articles
Circulating H3K27me3 modified nucleosomes as a biomarker to monitor anti EZH2-based treatment in advanced solid tumour patients: Translational analyses from CAIRE trial (2024)
Salani, Francesca; Eccleston, Mark; Palmieri, Lola-Jade; Pernot, Simon; Cousin, Sophie; Masi, Gianluca; Crea, Francesco and Italiano, Antoine
Cancer Research, 84, Article 5128(6_Suppl.)
Comprehensive analysis of differentially expressed miRNAs in hepatocellular carcinoma: Prognostic, predictive significance and pathway insights (2024)
Smith, Kayleigh; Beach, Dan; Silva, Roger; Balazs, Gyorffy; Salani, Francesca and Crea, Francesco
PLOS ONE, 19, Article e0296198(4)
Calcium signalling pathways in prostate cancer initiation and progression (2023-09)
Silvestri, Roberto; Nicolì, Vanessa; Gangadharannambiar, Priyadarsini; Crea, Francesco and Bootman, Martin D.
Nature reviews. Urology, 20 (pp. 524-543)
Autophagy and cancer drug resistance in dialogue: Pre-clinical and clinical evidence (2023-07-28)
Qin, Yi; Ashrafizadeh, Milad; Mongiardini, Vera; Grimaldi, Benedetto; Crea, Francesco; Rietdorf, Katja; Győrffy, Balázs; Klionsky, Daniel J; Ren, Jun; Zhang, Wei and Zhang, Xianbin
Cancer letters, 570, Article 216307
P-54 Circulating immune cells as a tool to predict benefit from atezolizumab/bevacizumab in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (aHCC) (2023-06)
Salani, F.; Guerri, V.; Cesario, S.; Sammuri, P.; Genovesi, V.; Pratesi, F.; Massa, V.; Catanese, S.; Vivaldi, C.; Fornaro, L.; Crea, F.; Migliorini, P.; Galimberti, S. and Masi, G.
Annals of Oncology, 34 (S32)
Marine Natural Products with Activities against Prostate Cancer: Recent Discoveries (2023)
Montuori, Eleonora; Hyde, Caroline; Crea, Francesco; Golding, Jon and Lauritano, Chiara
International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 24, Article 1435(2)
The Combination of Electrochemistry and Microfluidic Technology in Drug Metabolism Studies (2022-12)
Grint, Isobel; Crea, Francesco and Vasiliadou, Rafaela
ChemistryOpen, 11, Article e202200100(12)
Predictive significance of circulating histones in hepatocellular carcinoma patients treated with sorafenib (2022-05)
Salani, Francesca; Latarani, Maryam; Casadei-Gardini, Andrea; Gangadharannambiar, Priyadarsini; Fornaro, Lorenzo; Vivaldi, Caterina; Pecora, Irene; Massa, Valentina; Marisi, Giorgia; Canale, Matteo; Ulivi, Paola; Scartozzi, Mario; Eccleston, Mark; Masi, Gianluca and Crea, Francesco
Epigenomics, 14(9) (pp. 507-517)
A non-canonical role for pyruvate kinase M2 as a functional modulator of Ca2+ signalling through IP3 receptors (2022-04)
Lavik, Andrew R.; McColl, Karen S.; Lemos, Fernanda O.; Kerkhofs, Martijn; Zhong, Fei; Harr, Michael; Schlatzer, Daniela; Hamada, Kozo; Mikoshiba, Katsuhiko; Crea, Francesco; Bultynck, Geert; Bootman, Martin D.; Parys, Jan B. and Distelhorst, Clark W.
Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Molecular Cell Research, 1869, Article 119206(4)
The long and short non-coding RNAs modulating EZH2 signaling in cancer (2022-03-02)
Mirzaei, Sepideh; Gholami, Mohammad Hossein; Hushmandi, Kiavash; Hashemi, Farid; Zabolian, Amirhossein; Canadas, Israel; Zarrabi, Ali; Nabavi, Noushin; Aref, Amir Reza; Crea, Francesco; Wang, Yuzhuo; Ashrafizadeh, Milad and Kumar, Alan Prem
Journal of Hematology & Oncology, 15(1)
Targeting autophagy in prostate cancer: preclinical and clinical evidence for therapeutic response (2022-03)
Ashrafizadeh, Milad; Paskeh, Mahshid Deldar Abad; Mirzaei, Sepideh; Gholami, Mohammad Hossein; Zarrabi, Ali; Hashemi, Farid; Hushmandi, Kiavash; Hashemi, Mehrdad; Nabavi, Noushin; Crea, Francesco; Ren, Jun; Klionsky, Daniel J.; Kumar, Alan Prem and Wang, Yuzhuo
Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research, 41, Article 105(1)
Molecular events in neuroendocrine prostate cancer development (2021-10)
Wang, Yong; Wang, Yu; Ci, Xinpei; Choi, Stephen Y C; Crea, Francesco; Lin, Dong and Wang, Yuzhuo
Nature Reviews Urology, 18(10) (pp. 581-596)
Long non-coding RNAs in the doxorubicin resistance of cancer cells (2021-06-28)
Ashrafizaveh, Saeed; Ashrafizadeh, Milad; Zarrabi, Ali; Husmandi, Kiavash; Zabolian, Amirhossein; Shahinozzaman, Md; Aref, Amir Reza; Hamblin, Michael R.; Nabavi, Noushin; Crea, Francesco; Wang, Yuzhuo and Ahn, Kwang Seok
Cancer Letters, 508 (pp. 104-114)
Age-related ultrastructural neurovascular changes in the female mouse cortex and hippocampus (2021-05)
Frias Anaya, Eduardo; Gromnicova, Radka; Kraev, Igor; Rogachevsky, Vadim; Male, David; Crea, Francesco; Hawkes, Cheryl and Romero, Ignacio A.
Neurobiology of Aging, 101 (pp. 273-284)
The evolutionarily conserved long non‐coding RNA LINC00261 drives neuroendocrine prostate cancer proliferation and metastasis via distinct nuclear and cytoplasmic mechanisms (2021)
Mather, Rebecca L.; Parolia, Abhijit; Carson, Sandra E.; Venalainen, Erik; Roig-Carles, David; Jaber, Mustapha; Chu, Shih‐Chun; Alborelli, Ilaria; Wu, Rebecca; Lin, Dong; Nabavi, Noushin; Jachetti, Elena; Colombo, Mario P.; Xue, Hui; Pucci, Perla; Ci, Xinpei; Hawkes, Cheryl; Li, Yinglei; Pandha, Hardev; Ulitsky, Igor; Marconett, Crystal; Quagliata, Luca; Jiang, Wei; Romero, Ignacio A; Wang, Yuzhuo and Crea, Francesco
Molecular Oncology, 15(7) (pp. 1921-1941)
The Long Non-Coding RNA H19 Drives the Proliferation of Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma with H3K27 Mutation (2021)
Roig-Carles, David; Jackson, Holly; Loveson, Katie F.; Mackay, Alan; Mather, Rebecca; Waters, Ella; Manzo, Massimiliano; Alborelli, Ilaria; Golding, Jon; Jones, Chris; Fillmore, Helen L. and Crea, Francesco
International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 22, Article 9165(17)
EZH2 inhibition: a promising strategy to prevent cancer immune editing (2020-08)
Kang, Ning; Eccleston, Mark; Clermont, Pier-Luc; Latarani, Maryam; Male, David Kingsley; Wang, Yuzhuo and Crea, Francesco
Epigenomics, 12(16)
LncRNA HORAS5 promotes taxane resistance in castration-resistant prostate cancer via a BCL2A1-dependent mechanism (2020-07)
Pucci, Perla; Venalainen, Erik; Alborelli, Ilaria; Quagliata, Luca; Hawkes, Cheryl; Mather, Rebecca; Romero, Ignacio A; Rigas, Sushila; Wang, Yuzhuo and Crea, Francesco
Epigenomics, 12(13) (pp. 1123-1138)
Targeting SARS-CoV-2 using polycomb inhibitors as antiviral agents (2020)
Ayaz, Sameer and Crea, Francesco
Epigenomics, 12(10)
HORAS5 promotes cabazitaxel resistance in castration resistant prostate cancer via a BCL2A1-dependent survival mechanism (2019-10-01)
Pucci, P.; Venalainen, E.; Alborelli, I.; Quagliata, L.; Mather, R.; Rigas, S.; Romero, I.; Wang, Y. and Crea, F.
Annals of Oncology, 30(5) (v798)
Neuroendocrine prostate cancer: long noncoding RNAs to treat an incurable cancer – an interview with Dr Francesco Crea (2019-10)
Crea, Francesco
Epigenomics, 11(13) (pp. 1461-1462)
T-type calcium channels drive the proliferation of androgen-receptor negative prostate cancer cells (2019-09-15)
Silvestri, Roberto; Pucci, Perla; Venalainen, Erik; Matheou, Chrysanthi; Mather, Rebecca; Chandler, Stephen; Aceto, Romina; Rigas, Sushila; Wang, Yuzhuo; Rietdorf, Katja; Bootman, Martin and Crea, Francesco
The Prostate, 79(13) (pp. 1580-1586)
The long non-coding RNA HORAS5 mediates castration-resistant prostate cancer survival by activating the androgen receptor transcriptional program (2019-04-29)
Parolia, Abhijit; Venalainen, Erik; Xue, Hui; Mather, Rebecca; Lin, Dong; Wu, Rebecca; Pucci, Perla; Rogalski, Jason; Evans, Joseph; Feng, Felix; Collins, Colin; Wang, Yuzhuo and Crea, Francesco
Molecular Oncology, 13(5) (pp. 1121-1136)
Treatment-emergent neuroendocrine prostate cancer: molecularly driven clinical guidelines (2019)
Clermont, Pier-Luc; Ci, Xinpei; Pandha, Hardev; Wang, Yuzhuo and Crea, Francesco
International Journal of Endocrine Oncology, 6, Article IJE20(2)
The role of histone lysine demethylases in cancer cells' resistance to tyrosine kinase inhibitors. (2019)
White, Jasmine Cassar; Pucci, Perla and Crea, Francesco
Cancer Drug Resistance, 2(2) (pp. 326-334)
Is HOTAIR really involved in neuroendocrine prostate cancer differentiation? (2018-10)
Mather, Rebecca L.; Wang, Yuzhuo and Crea, Francesco
Epigenomics, 10(10) (pp. 1259-1261)
Hypoxia and Noncoding RNAs in Taxane Resistance (2018-08)
Pucci, Perla; Rescigno, Pasquale; Sumanasuriya, Semini; de Bono, Johann and Crea, Francesco
Trends in Pharmacological Sciences, 39(8) (pp. 695-709)
Heterochromatin protein 1α mediates development and aggressiveness of neuroendocrine prostate cancer (2018-05-31)
Ci, Xinpei; Hao, Jun; Dong, Xin; Choi, Stephen Y.C.; Xue, Hui; Wu, Rebecca; Qu, Sifeng; Gout, Peter W.; Zhang, Fang; Haegert, Anne M.; Fazil, Ladan; Crea, Francesco; Ong, Christopher J.; Zoubedi, Amina; He, Housheng H.; Gleave, Martin E.; Collins, Colin C.; Lin, Dong and Wang, Yuzhuo
Cancer Research, 78(10) (pp. 2691-2704)
EZH2 Single Nucleotide Variants (SNVs): Diagnostic and Prognostic Role in 10 Solid Tumor Types (2017-12-12)
Paolicchi, Elisa; Fornaro, Lorenzo; Landi, Stefano; Rigas, Sushilaben and Crea, Francesco
Epigenomes, 1, Article 18(3)
Elevated expression of a pharmacologic Polycomb signature predicts poor prognosis in gastric and breast cancer (2017-10)
Clermont, Pier-Luc; Fornaro, Lorenzo and Crea, Francesco
Epigenomics, 9(10) (pp. 1329-1335)
Prognostic relevance of a T-type calcium channels gene signature in solid tumours: A correlation ready for clinical validation (2017-08-28)
Fornaro, Lorenzo; Vivaldi, Caterina; Lin, Dong; Xue, Hui; Falcone, Alfredo; Wang, Yuzhuo; Crea, Francesco and Bootman, Martin D.
PLoS ONE, 12, Article e0182818(8)
Are there any HOTTIPs for defining coding potential of lncRNAs, or just a lot of HOTAIR? (2017-07-27)
Mather, Rebecca L.; Hirst, Mark and Crea, Francesco
Epigenomics, 9(8) (pp. 1045-1047)
miR-100-5p inhibition induces apoptosis in dormant prostate cancer cells and prevents the emergence of castration-resistant prostate cancer (2017-06-30)
Nabavi, Noushin; Saidy, Nur Ridzwan Nur; Venalainen, Erik; Haegert, Anne; Parolia, Abhijit; Xue, Hui; Wang, Yuwei; Wu, Rebecca; Dong, Xin; Collins, Colin; Crea, Francesco and Wang, Yuzhuo
Scientific reports, 7, Article 4079(1)
Topoisomerase 1 Promoter Variants and Benefit from Irinotecan in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Patients (2016-11)
Paolicchi, E.; Vivaldi, C.; De Gregorio, V.; Crea, F.; Fornaro, L.; Masi, G.; Loupakis, F.; Graziano, F.; Ronzoni, M.; Ricci, V.; Falcone, A. and Danesi, R.
Oncology, 91(5) (pp. 283-288)
The role of epigenetics and long noncoding RNA MIAT in neuroendocrine prostate cancer (2016-06-01)
Crea, Francesco; Venalainen, Erik; Ci, Xinpei; Cheng, Hongwei; Pikor, Larissa; Parolia, Abhijit; Xue, Hui; Nur Saidy, Nur Ridzwan; Lin, Dong; Lam, Wan; Collins, Colin and Wang, Yuzhuo
Epigenomics, 8(5) (pp. 721-731)
Integrated analysis of the prostate cancer small-nucleolar transcriptome reveals SNORA55 as a driver of prostate cancer progression (2016-05)
Crea, Francesco; Quagliata, Luca; Michael, Agnieszka; Liu, Hui Hsuan; Frumento, Paolo; Azad, Arun A.; Xue, Hui; Pikor, Larissa; Wathaiki, Akira; Morant, Rudolf; Castori-Eppenberger, Serenella; Wang, Yuwei; Parolia, Abhijit; Lennox, Kim A.; Lam, Wan L.; Gleave, Martin; Chi, Kim N.; Pandha, Hardev; Wang, Yuzhuo and Helgason, Cheryl D.
Molecular Oncology, 10(5) (pp. 693-703)
Identification of the epigenetic reader CBX2 as a potential drug target in advanced prostate cancer (2016-02-12)
Clermont, Pier-Luc; Crea, Francesco; Chiang, Yan Ting; Lin, Dong; Zhang, Amy; Wang, James Z. L.; Parolia, Abhijit; Wu, Rebecca; Xue, Hui; Wang, Yuwei; Ding, Jiarui; Thu, Kelsie L.; Lam, Wan L.; Shah, Sohrab P.; Collins, Colin C.; Wang, Yuzhuo and Helgason, Cheryl D.
Clinical Epigenetics, 8, Article 16
Molecular and pathological characterization of the EZH2 rs3757441 single nucleotide polymorphism in colorectal cancer (2015-11-09)
Fornaro, Lorenzo; Faviana, Pinuccia; De Gregorio, Veronica; Vivaldi, Caterina; Paolicchi, Elisa; Masi, Gianluca; Loupakis, Fotios; Sensi, Elisa; Lupi, Cristiana; Fontanini, Garbriella; Wang, Yuzhuo; Danesi, Romano; Falcone, Alfredo and Crea, Francesco
BMC Cancer, 15, Article 874
Polycomb genes are associated with response to imatinib in chronic myeloid leukemia. (2015-08)
Crea, Francesco; Di Paolo, Antonello; Liu, Hui Hsuan; Polillo, Marialuisa; Clermont, Pier-Luc; Guerrini, Francesca; Ciabatti, Elena; Ricci, Federica; Baratè, Claudia; Fontanelli, Giulia; Barsotti, Sara; Morganti, Riccardo; Danesi, Romano; Wang, Yuzhuo; Petrini, Mario; Galimberti, Sara and Helgason, Cheryl D.
Epigenomics, 7(5) (pp. 757-765)
Polycomb-mediated silencing in neuroendocrine prostate cancer (2015-04-03)
Clermont, Pier-Luc; Lin, Dong; Crea, Francesco; Wu, Rebecca; Xue, Hui; Wang, Yuwei; Thu, Kelsie L; Lam, Wan L; Collins, Colin C; Wang, Yuzhuo and Helgason, Cheryl D
Clinical Epigenetics, 7(40)
The epigenetic/noncoding origin of tumor dormancy (2015-04)
Crea, Francesco; Nur Saidy, Nur Ridzwan; Collins, Colin C. and Wang, Yuzhuo
Trends in molecular medicine, 21(4) (pp. 206-11)
Identification of DEK as a potential therapeutic target for neuroendocrine prostate cancer (2015-01-30)
Lin, Dong; Dong, Xin; Wang, Kendric; Wyatt, Alexander W.; Crea, Francesco; Xue, Hui; Wang, Yuwei; Wu, Rebecca; Bell, Robert H.; Haegert, Anne; Brahmbhatt, Sonal; Hurtado-Coll, Antonio; Gout, Peter W.; Fazli, Ladan; Gleave, Martin E.; Collins, Colin C. and Wang, Yuzhuo
Oncotarget, 6(3) (pp. 1806-1820)
Genotranscriptomic meta-analysis of the Polycomb gene CBX2 in human cancers: initial evidence of an oncogenic role (2014-10-14)
Clermont, P-L; Sun, L; Crea, F; Thu, K L; Zhang, A; Parolia, A; Lam, W L and Helgason, C D
British Journal of Cancer, 111(8) (pp. 1663-1672)
Histone modifications, stem cells and prostate cancer (2014-04-01)
Crea, Francesco; Clermont, Pier-Luc; Mai, Antonello and Helgason, Cheryl D.
Current Pharmaceutical Design, 20(11) (pp. 1687-1697)
The non-coding transcriptome as a dynamic regulator of cancer metastasis. (2014-03-01)
Crea, Francesco; Clermont, Pier Luc; Parolia, Abhijit; Wang, Yuzhuo and Helgason, Cheryl D.
Cancer Metastasis Reviews, 33(1) (pp. 1-16)
Identification of a long non-coding RNA as a novel biomarker and potential therapeutic target for metastatic prostate cancer (2014-02-06)
Crea, Francesco; Watahiki, Akira; Quagliata, Luca; Xue, Hui; Pikor, Larissa; Parolia, Abhijit; Wang, Yuwei; Lin, Dong; Lam, Wan L.; Farrar, William L.; Isogai, Takao; Morant, Rudolf; Castori-Eppenberger, Serenella; Chi, Kim N.; Wang, Yuzhuo and Helgason, Cheryl D.
Oncotarget, 5(3) (pp. 764-774)
Genome-epigenome interactions: the Polycomb paradox. (2014-02)
Crea, Francesco and Fornaro, Lorenzo
Epigenomics, 6(1) (pp. 5-7)
Mutational analysis of Polycomb genes in solid tumours identifies PHC3 amplification as a possible cancer-driving genetic alteration. (2013-09-17)
Crea, F.; Sun, L.; Pikor, L.; Frumento, P.; Lam, W. L. and Helgason, C. D.
British Journal of Cancer, 109(6) (pp. 1699-1702)
Histone lysine demethylases in breast cancer. (2013-05)
Paolicchi, Elisa; Crea, Francesco; Farrar, William L.; Green, Jeffrey E. and Danesi, Romano
Critical Reviews in Oncology/Hematology, 86(2) (pp. 97-103)
Plasma miRNAs as biomarkers to identify patients with castration-resistant metastatic prostate cancer. (2013-04-10)
Watahiki, Akira; Macfarlane, Robyn J.; Gleave, Martin E.; Crea, Francesco; Wang, Yuzhuo; Helgason, Cheryl D. and Chi, Kim N.
International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 14(4) (pp. 7757-7770)
Embryonic stem cell pathways and chemotherapy response: an unexplored route. (2013-02-01)
Duhagon, M. A.; Crea, F.; Danesi, R. and Farrar, W. L.
Annals of Oncology, 24(2) (pp. 558-559)
EZH2 inhibition: targeting the crossroad of tumor invasion and angiogenesis (2012-12)
Crea, Francesco; Fornaro, Lorenzo; Bocci, Guido; Sun, Lei; Farrar, William L.; Falcone, Alfredo and Danesi, Romano
Cancer and Metastasis reviews, 31(3) (pp. 753-761)
The emerging role of histone lysine demethylases in prostate cancer. (2012-08-06)
Crea, Francesco; Sun, Lei; Mai, Antonello; Chiang, Yan Ting; Farrar, William L.; Danesi, Romano and Helgason, Cheryl D.
Molecular Cancer, 11, Article 52
Molecular mechanisms involved in the synergistic interaction of the EZH2 inhibitor 3-deazaneplanocin A with gemcitabine in pancreatic cancer cells. (2012-08-01)
Avan, Amir; Crea, Francesco; Paolicchi, Elisa; Funel, Niccola; Galvani, Elena; Marquez, Victor E; Honeywell, Richard J; Danesi, Romano; Peters, Godefridus J and Giovannetti, Elisa
Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, 11(8) (pp. 1735-1746)
Polycomb genes and cancer: time for clinical application? (2012-08-01)
Crea, Francesco; Paolicchi, Elisa; Marquez, Victor E. and Danesi, Romano
Critical Reviews in Oncology/Hematology, 83(2) (pp. 184-193)
An EZH2 polymorphism is associated with clinical outcome in metastatic colorectal cancer patients (2012-05)
Crea, F.; Fornaro, L.; Paolicchi, E.; Masi, G.; Frumento, P.; Loupakis, F.; Salvatore, L.; Cremolini, C.; Schirripa, M.; Graziano, F.; Ronzoni, M.; Ricci, V.; Farrar, W. L.; Falcone, A. and Danesi, R.
Annals of oncology: official journal of the European Society for Medical Oncology / ESMO, 23(5) (pp. 1207-13)
Histone code, human growth and cancer. (2012-01-25)
Crea, Francesco
Oncotarget, 3(1) (pp. 1-2)
Epigenetics and chemoresistance in colorectal cancer: an opportunity for treatment tailoring and novel therapeutic strategies (2011-12-01)
Crea, Francesco; Nobili, Stefania; Paolicchi, Elisa; Perrone, Gabriele; Napoli, Cristina; Landini, Ida; Danesi, Romano and Mini, Enrico
Drug Resistance Updates, 14(6) (pp. 280-296)
Faithful markers of circulating cancer stem cells: is CD133 sufficient for validation in clinics? (2011-09-01)
Crea, Francesco; Fornaro, Lorenzo; Masi, Gianluca; Falcone, Alfredo; Danesi, Romano and Farrar, William
Journal of Clinical Oncology, 29(25) (pp. 3487-3488)
Optical biosensors to analyze novel biomarkers in oncology. (2011-06-01)
Donzella, Valentina and Crea, Francesco
Journal of Biophotonics, 4(6) (pp. 442-452)
Pharmacologic disruption of Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 inhibits tumorigenicity and tumor progression in prostate cancer (2011-04-18)
Crea, Francesco; Hurt, Elaine M.; Mathews, Lesley A.; Cabarcas, Stephanie M.; Sun, Lei; Marquez, Victor E.; Danesi, Romano and Farrar, William L.
Molecular Cancer, 10, Article 40
BMI1 silencing enhances docetaxel activity and impairs antioxidant response in prostate cancer (2011-04-15)
Crea, Francesco; Duhagon Serrat, Maria A.; Hurt, Elaine M.; Thomas, Suneetha B.; Danesi, Romano and Farrar, William L.
International Journal of Cancer, 128(8) (pp. 1946-1954)
EZH2 and cancer stem cells: fact or fiction? (2011-04)
Crea, Francesco
Epigenomics, 3(2) (pp. 127-128)
Clinical significance of Polycomb gene expression in brain tumors (2010-09-30)
Crea, Francesco; Hurt, Elaine M. and Farrar, William L.
Molecular Cancer, 9, Article 265
Cytochrome 450 1B1 (CYP1B1) polymorphisms associated with response to docetaxel in Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer (CRPC) patients. (2010-09-27)
Pastina, Ilaria; Giovannetti, Elisa; Chioni, Aldo; Sissung, Tristan M.; Crea, Francesco; Orlandini, Cinzia; Price, Douglas K.; Cianci, Claudia; Figg, William D.; Ricci, Sergio and Danesi, Romano
BMC Cancer, 10, Article 511
Synergistic cytotoxicity and molecular interaction on drug targets of sorafenib and gemcitabine in human pancreas cancer cells (2010-08)
Ricciardi, S.; Mey, V.; Nannizzi, S.; Pasqualetti, G.; Crea, F.; Del Tacca, M. and Danesi, R.
Chemotherapy, 56(4) (pp. 303-312)
Targeting prostate cancer stem cells. (2009-12-01)
Crea, Francesco; Mathews, Lesley A.; Farrar, William L. and Hurt, Elaine M.
Anti-cancer agents in medicinal chemistry, 9(10) (pp. 1105-1113)
Pharmacologic rationale for early G-CSF prophylaxis in cancer patients and role of pharmacogenetics in treatment optimization (2009-10-01)
Crea, Francesco; Giovannetti, Elisa; Zinzani, Pier Luigi and Danesi, Romano
Critical Reviews in Oncology/Hematology, 72(1) (pp. 21-44)
Cancer stem cell epigenetics and chemoresistance. (2009-10)
Crea, Francesco; Danesi, Romano and Farrar, William L.
Epigenomics, 1(1) (pp. 63-79)
Epigenetic gene regulation in stem cells and correlation to cancer. (2009-07-01)
Mathews, Lesley A.; Crea, Francesco and Farrar, W. L.
Differentiation, 78(1) (pp. 1-17)
Pharmacogenomics in non-small-cell lung cancer chemotherapy. (2009-05-20)
Danesi, Romano; Pasqualetti, Giuseppe; Giovannetti, Elisa; Crea, Francesco; Altavilla, Giuseppe; Del Tacca, Mario and Rosell, Rafael
Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews, 61(5) (pp. 408-417)
Conference items
EZH2 as a therapeutic target for aggressive prostate cancer (2020-10-05)
Latarani, Maryam; Pucci, Perla; Roig-Carles, David; Eccleston, Mark; Xue, Hui; Hawkes, Cheryl; Rigas, Sushila; Wang, Yuzhuo and Crea, Francesco
In : Crick Cancer Research Symposium, iPoster (5-6 Oct 2020, The Francis Crick Institute and Virtual)
Long non-coding RNAs are key players in Prostate cancer tumorigenesis and drug resistance (2020-10)
Pucci, Perla; Crea, Francesco; Alborelli, Ilaria; Quagliata, Luca; Bootman, Martin; Rigas, Sushilaben; Romero, Ignacio and Wang, Yuzhuo
In : 27th Annual PCF Scientific Retreat Virtual Poster Session (20-23 Oct 2020, Virtual)
The Open University’s first one day symposium on treatment-emergent neuroendocrine prostate cancer (2020)
Mather, Rebecca; Andrews, Henry; Pandha, Hardev; Jachetti, Elena; Micallef, Jake; Wang, Yuzhuo and Crea, Francesco
In : The Open University NEPC conference (25 Jun 2019, The Open University)
Discovery of candidate hub genes in breast cancer (2019)
Chandler, Stephen; Gangadharannambiar, Priyadarsini; Crea, Francesco; Hirst, Mark; Cox, Angela and Rigas, Sushila
In : New Developments in Breast Cancer Research - From the Lab to the Clinic, 2019 BACR Special Conference (9-11 Oct 2019, The Sage, Newcastle Gateshead, UK)
Discovery of candidate long non-coding RNAs as biomarkers and treatment targets for prostate cancer (2019)
Chandler, Stephen; Gangadharannambiar, Priyadarsini; Crea, Francesco; Hirst, Mark; Cox, Angela and Rigas, Sushila
In : NEPC 2019. Treatment-emergent neuroendocrine prostate cancer: clinical relevance and molecular pathogenesis. (25 Jun 2019, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK)
The role of long non-coding RNAs in breast cancer dissemination to the brain (2018-05)
Juan-Larrea, Naiara; Mather, Rebecca; Romero, Ignacio A.; Sibson, Nicola R. and Crea, Francesco
In : CRUK brain tumour conference (1-3 May 2018, London)
Identification of candidate genes that may function in ER- breast cancer (2018)
Chandler, Stephen; Crea, Francesco; Hirst, Mark; Cox, Angela and Rigas, Sushila
In : BACR Conference: Response and Resistance in Cancer Therapy (10-12 Sep 2018, University of Kent, Canterbury)
Identification of putative functional genes in breast and other cancers with potentially shared aetiology (2017-11-23)
Chandler, Stephen; Crea, Francesco; Hirst, Mark; Cox, Angela and Rigas, Sushilaben
In : The Human Genome in Healthcare (23-24 Nov 2017, The Royal Society, London, UK)
The long non-coding RNA NEAR1 promotes neuroendocrine prostate cancer cell proliferation and survival (2017)
Mather, Rebecca L.; Venalainen, Erik; Pucci, Perla; Lin, Dong; Xue, Hui; Wang, Yuzhuo and Crea, Francesco
In : 3rd International Cancer Symposium, Cancer Research Center of Lyon (CRCL) (25-27 Sep 2017, Lyon, France)
Identification of a long non-coding RNA that mediates response to therapy in castration-resistant prostate cancer (2017)
Pucci, Perla; Venalainen, Erik; Mather, Rebecca; Xue, Hui; Rigas, Sushila; Romero, Ignacio A; Wang, Yuzho and Crea, Francesco
In : 3rd International Cancer Symposium (25-27 Sep 2017, Lyon, France)
Mibefradil; a T-type calcium channel blocker as a potential anti-cancer agent. (2016-09)
Matheou, Chrysanthi; Chandler, Stephen; Crea, Francesco; Faria, Nuno; Powell, Jonathan; McDonald, Fraser; Rietdorf, Katja and Bootman, Martin D.
In : 14th International Meeting of the European Calcium Society (25-29 Sep 2016, Valladolid, Spain)
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