University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Post

We're happy to share more about one of CRF's 2025 Young Investigators, Joseph Franses, MD, PhD. Dr. Franses is an Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Chicago, and is focusing on circulating tumor cells (CTCs) to discover new blood-based biomarkers and drug targets for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a leading form of liver cancer. While traditional methods focus on circulating free DNA, Dr. Franses is shifting the focus to circulating tumor cells (CTCs)—the precursors to metastasis. CTCs contain crucial RNA and molecular cargo that could reveal deeper insights into how cancer spreads and responds to immune therapies. By studying the interactions between CTCs and immune cells, he hopes to create predictive biomarkers for therapy response and uncover new therapeutic targets, ultimately improving outcomes for HCC patients. This is exciting work CRF is proud to support! Read more about his project at the link below. https://lnkd.in/g8eQjVGz