Wilbert Zwart, group leader at the Oncode Institute, principle investigator at the Netherlands Cancer Institute and professor at Eindhoven University of Technology , has been awarded a Vici grant from the NWO Talent Programme. The €1.5 million grant will support research that aims to clarify how prostate cancer cells alter gene activity as the disease develops, progresses and becomes resistant to treatment.

Prostate cancer is among the most common cancers in men and a major cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Many patients respond well to surgery or radiotherapy, although a significant group later develops metastatic disease. Treatment resistance is frequent in advanced stages, and virtually all of these patients transition to aggressive forms of the disease for which therapeutic options remain limited. Understanding how these changes occur is essential to improve outcomes.

The awarded project, PERSEUS: Plasticity-Encoded Reprogramming in Subtypes to Expose Unique Susceptibilities in Prostate Cancer, focuses on the concept of epigenetic plasticity. Cancer cells can switch gene programs ‘on’ and ‘off’ as they adapt to new conditions, and this flexibility influences how tumors grow, evolve and respond to therapy. The project integrates functional epigenetics, genome-wide screening, transcription factor biology and single-cell profiling to identify the molecular mechanisms that drive this process.

Wilbert Zwart highlights the significance of the proposed research.
“Epigenetic plasticity was recently recognized as a new Hallmark of Cancer. This Vici project enables for the unique opportunity to understand the biological mechanisms and rules underlying this novel Cancer Hallmark, and find ways how to therapeutically exploit this knowledge to improve prostate cancer treatment, in a disease stage-specific manner. Can’t wait to get started!”

The results of the PERSEUS project are expected to generate insights that can inform targeted strategies adapted to the specific stage and subtype of the disease. This approach has the potential to make future treatments more precise and more durable.

The Vici grant is one of the highest individual awards offered by the Dutch Research Council and is part of the NWO Talent Programme. With this recognition, Wilbert Zwart completes the full sequence of the programme, having previously received the Rubicon, Veni and Vidi grants.