Education and training
Florian Janke studied Molecular Biotechnology at Mannheim University of Applied Sciences and specialized in cancer genome research during his master’s studies. He completed his PhD at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in the Division of Cancer Genome Research under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Holger Sültmann, where he established a method for DNA methylation analysis from cell-free DNA and applied it for therapy monitoring in lung cancer patients. Since completing his PhD, he has been working as a postdoctoral researcher at DKFZ, continuing his focus on liquid biopsy analyses. His current research centers on minimally invasive therapy monitoring and predicting therapeutic response in cancers such as melanoma, lung cancer, and head & neck tumors.
Expertise
Florian Janke has extensive expertise in liquid biopsy and bioinformatics, particularly in the field of lung cancer. His research focuses on the analysis of cell-free DNA using advanced bioinformatics approaches, with a particular emphasis on copy number alterations and fragmentation patterns. He has in-depth experience in applying NGS technologies to monitor therapy responses and to identify biomarkers for personalized medicine.
- Liquid biopsy
- Non-small cell lung cancer
- Circulating tumor DNA
- Therapy monitoring
- Lung cancer
1.Janke F, Angeles AK, Riediger AL, Bauer S, Reck M, Stenzinger A, Schneider MA, Muley T, Thomas M, Christopoulos P, Sültmann H. Longitudinal monitoring of cell-free DNA methylation in ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer patients. Clin Epigenetics. 2022 Dec 2;14(1):163. doi: 10.1186/s13148-022-01387-4.
2. Dietz S, Christopoulos P, Yuan Z, Angeles AK, Gu L, Volckmar AL, Ogrodnik SJ, Janke F, … Sültmann H. Longitudinal therapy monitoring of ALK-positive lung cancer by combined copy number and targeted mutation profiling of cell-free DNA. EBioMedicine. 2020 Dec;62:103103. doi: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2020.103103.
3. Angeles AK, Christopoulos P, Yuan Z, Bauer S, Janke F, … Sültmann H. Early identification of disease progression in ALK-rearranged lung cancer using circulating tumor DNA analysis. NPJ Precis Oncol. 2021 Dec 7;5(1):100. doi: 10.1038/s41698-021-00239-3.
4.Janke F, Bozorgmehr F, Wrenger S, Dietz S, … Sültmann H, Schneider MA. Novel Liquid Biomarker Panels for A Very Early Response Capturing of NSCLC Therapies in Advanced Stages. Cancers (Basel). 2020 Apr 12;12(4):954. doi: 10.3390/cancers12040954.
5. Christopoulos P, Dietz S, Angeles AK, Rheinheimer S, Kazdal D, Volckmar AL, Janke F, … Sültmann H. Earlier extracranial progression and shorter survival in ALK-rearranged lung cancer with positive liquid rebiopsies. Transl Lung Cancer Res. 2021 May;10(5):2118-2131. doi: 10.21037/tlcr-21-32.
Lung Research - Projects
Liquid Biopsies to Predict Immunotherapy Response in Lung Cancer
Response to immunotherapy varies between lung cancer patients. This project investigates how the early prediction of therapy response can be improved using liquid biopsies. Cell-free DNA (cfDNA) in the blood of cancer patients carries (epi-)genetic alterations of the tumor. Through low-coverage whole genome sequencing (lcWGS), both chromosomal copy number alterations and tumor-associated cfDNA fragmentation patterns can be detected, providing valuable information about therapy response. Based on this approach, more precise and individualized treatment options for lung cancer patients could be developed in the future.
Therapy Monitoring via DNA Methylation Patterns
Monitoring therapy success in lung cancer patients is often challenging as tumor cells release only small amounts of DNA into the bloodstream. This project investigates how DNA methylation can be used to better detect tumor cells. Unlike genetic changes, DNA methylation patterns are found in many cancer patients and could provide more reliable insights into tumor behavior. Using cfMeDIP-seq, an enrichment-based method for DNA methylation analysis, these methylation patterns are studied in the blood to improve disease monitoring.