On the 12th of December 2023, Lisa Pagan sucessfully defended her thesis titled “Taking a closer look: Non-invasive tools for in-depth characterisation of vulvar diseases”. The thesis examines the vulvar diseases lichen sclerosus and vulvar High-grade Squamous Intraepithelial Lesion (HSIL), which can lead to vulvar cancer. The aim of this thesis was to advance the understanding of etiology, improve clinical recognition and aid development of adequate treatment of these diseases. Specifically, the research has focused on the clinical application of novel imaging techniques as well as characterization of the vulvar microbiome composition.
The first part of the thesis focuses on the recognition and validation of imaging-based biomarkers for Human papillomavirus-driven diseases of the skin and external genitalia. The application of improved biomarkers was intended to improve clinical detection and contributing to investigating potential new drug targets. The second part of this thesis investigates the vulvar microbiome composition. It highlights the lack of existing knowledge in the research field, despite its potential significance to malignant etiology and progression. In addition, this section investigates the vulvar microbiome composition in lichen sclerosus and vulvar HSIL compared to healthy volunteers.
The novel biomarkers presented in this thesis can contribute to an advanced understanding and recognition of the diseases leading to vulvar cancer. These techniques can subsequently be applied in early clinical trials to follow treatment effects and demonstrate early efficacy of novel drug targets.
Read Lisa’s thesis here
