My research work focuses on understanding the role of tumour microenvironment in tumour invasion, angiogenesis and metastasis. Understanding the role that cancer associated fibroblasts (CAF), the most abundant cell type of tumor microenvironment, play on oral cancer cell survival and expansion will (1) increase the knowledge on the specific factors that promote cancer invasion, and (2) may yield additional targets for novel therapeutic strategies in which both transformed cells and activated stroma can be co-targeted.

Academic article

• Stian Tornaas; Dimitrios Kleftogiannis; Siren Fromreide et al. (2024). Development of a high dimensional imaging mass cytometry panel to investigate spatial organization of tissue microenvironment in formalin-fixed archival clinical tissues. (external link)
• Siddharth Shanbhag; Carina Kampleitner; Samih Salah Eldin Mahgoub Mohamed-Ahmed et al. (2021). Ectopic Bone Tissue Engineering in Mice Using Human Gingiva or Bone Marrow-Derived Stromal/Progenitor Cells in Scaffold-Hydrogel Constructs. (external link)
• Hanne Borge; Ingrid Beate Ringstad; Lara A. Aqrawi et al. (2024). Increased expression of CXCL10 and CCL3 salivary gland chemokines in primary Sjögren’s syndrome detected and systematically quantified using RNAscope® in situ hybridization. (external link)
• Sharada Sawant; Harsh Dongre; Deepak Kanojia et al. (2019). Role of electron microscopy in early detection of altered epithelium during experimental oral carcinogenesis. (external link)
• Svein Erik Emblem Moe; Fredrik Atteraas Erland; Siren Fromreide et al. (2023). The TP53 Codon 72 Arginine Polymorphism Is Found with Increased TP53 Somatic Mutations in HPV(−) and in an Increased Percentage among HPV(+) Norwegian HNSCC Patients. (external link)
• Harsh Nitin Dongre; Rammah Elnour; Stian Tornaas et al. (2023). TP53 mutation and human papilloma virus status as independent prognostic factors in a Norwegian cohort of vulva squamous cell carcinoma. (external link)
• Nuha Mohamed Gaafar Mohamed; Tarig Al-Hadi Osman; Israa A.H. Ahmed et al. (2021). Characterization of immune cell infiltrate in tumor stroma and epithelial compartments in oral squamous cell carcinomas of Sudanese patients. (external link)
• Harsh Nitin Dongre (2016). Prognostic role of Oct4, CD44 and c-Myc in radio–chemo-resistant oral cancer patients and their tumourigenic potential in immunodeficient mice. (external link)
• Stian Tornaas; Dimitrios Kleftogiannis; Siren Fromreide et al. (2022). Development of an antibody panel for imaging mass cytometry to investigate cancer-associated fibroblast heterogeneity and spatial distribution in archival tissues. (external link)
• Saroj Rajthala; Himalaya Parajuli; Harsh Nitin Dongre et al. (2022). MicroRNA-138 abates fibroblast motility with effect on invasion of adjacent cancer cells. (external link)
• Harsh N. Dongre; Hilde Haave; Siren Fromreide et al. (2021). Targeted Next-Generation Sequencing of Cancer-Related Genes in a Norwegian Patient Cohort With Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Reveals Novel Actionable Mutations and Correlations With Pathological Parameters. (external link)
• Crismita Dmello; Sharada Sawant; Pratik Rajeev Chaudhari et al. (2018). Aberrant expression of vimentin predisposes oral premalignant lesion derived cells towards transformation. (external link)
• Rammah Elnour; Ingjerd Helstrup Hindenes; Malene Færevaag et al. (2025). Prognostic Value of an Integrated Human Papillomavirus and Immunoscore Model to Predict Survival in Vulva Squamous Cell Carcinoma. (external link)
• Christian Arvei Moen; Thea Eline Hetland Falkenthal; Tor Kristian Torkelsen et al. (2023). Penile Cancers Attributed to Human Papillomavirus Are Associated with Improved Survival for Node-positive Patients. Findings from a Norwegian Cohort Study Spanning 50 Years. (external link)
• Elisabeth Mayerhoefer; Himalaya Parajuli; Mihaela Roxana Cimpan et al. (2025). Zwitterionic Dipeptide Surface Functionalization of Detonation Nanodiamond for Enhanced Control in Biological Environments. (external link)
• Sharada Sawant; Chetan Ahire; Harsh Dongre et al. (2018). Prognostic significance of elevated serum CD44 levels in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma. (external link)
• Stine Hufthammer Indrelid; Harsh Nitin Dongre; Ivana Pereira Nunes et al. (2023). Human gingival epithelial cells stimulate proliferation, migration, and tube formation of lymphatic endothelial cells in vitro. (external link)
• Harsh Nitin Dongre; Snehal Mahadik; Chetan Ahire et al. (2022). Diagnostic and prognostic role of protein and ultrastructural alterations at cell–extracellular matrix junctions in neoplastic progression of human oral malignancy. (external link)
• Zhang Zhuoyuan; Zhenjie Gao; Saroj Rajthala et al. (2019). Metabolic reprogramming of normal oral fibroblasts correlated with increased glycolytic metabolism of oral squamous cell carcinoma and precedes their activation into carcinoma associated fibroblasts. (external link)
• Nuha Mohamed Gaafar Mohamed; Tarig Al-Hadi Osman; Mariam Elsheikh et al. (2022). Epithelial PD-L1 expression at tumor front predicts overall survival in a cohort of oral squamous cell carcinomas from Sudan. (external link)
• Elisabeth Mayerhoefer; Himalaya Parajuli; Mihaela Roxana Cimpan et al. (2024). Refining Biocompatibility: Zwitterionic Dipeptide Surface Functionalization of Detonation Nanodiamond for Enhanced Control in Biological Environments.. (external link)
• Saroj Rajthala; Harsh Dongre; Himalaya Parajuli et al. (2021). Combined in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry on archival tissues reveals stromal microRNA-204 as prognostic biomarker for oral squamous cell carcinoma. (external link)
• Harsh Dongre; Neha Rana; Siren Fromreide et al. (2020). Establishment of a novel cancer cell line derived from vulvar carcinoma associated with lichen sclerosus exhibiting a fibroblast-dependent tumorigenic potential. (external link)
• Sharada Sawant; Harsh Dongre; Chetan Ahire et al. (2018). Alterations in desmosomal adhesion at protein and ultrastructure levels during the sequential progressive grades of human oral tumorigenesis. (external link)

Conference lecture

• Elisabeth Mayerhoefer; Amelie Jerlitschka; Himalaya Parajuli et al. (2025). Controlling the interaction in biological environments: Dipeptides as surface modulators for nanodiamond. (external link)
• Christiane Helgestad Gjerde; Anika Langer; Gorka Ruiz de Garibay et al. (2022). Establishment of peritoneal dECM scaffolds for culture of ovarian cancer organoids. (external link)
• Christiane Helgestad Gjerde; Anika Langer; Gorka Ruiz de Garibay et al. (2022). Establishment of ovarian cancer organoids on peritoneal dECM scaffolds. (external link)

Doctoral thesis (PhD)

• Daniela Elena Costea; Line Bjørge; Anne Christine Johannessen et al. (2020). Biomarkers and preclinical models for more precise diagnosis and personalized treatment of oral and vulva carcinomas - Study on human samples and experimental models. (external link)

Academic literature review

• Imane El Herch; Stian Tornaas; Harsh Nitin Dongre et al. (2024). Heterogeneity of cancer-associated fibroblasts and tumor-promoting roles in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. (external link)
• Mohammad Emranul Islam; Kala Chand Debnath; Rohan Moniruzzaman et al. (2025). Biological implications of decoding the extracellular matrix of vulva cancer. (external link)

Journal corrigendum

• Siddharth Shanbhag; Carina Kampleitner; Samih Salah Eldin Mahgoub Mohamed-Ahmed et al. (2022). Corrigendum: Ectopic Bone Tissue Engineering in Mice Using Human Gingiva or Bone Marrow-Derived Stromal/Progenitor Cells in Scaffold-Hydrogel Constructs (Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol., (2021), 9, (783468), 10.3389/fbioe.2021.783468). (external link)

Conference poster

• Christiane Helgestad Gjerde; Anika Langer; Gorka Ruiz de Garibay et al. (2022). Establishment of peritoneal dECM scaffolds for 3D culture of ovarian cancer organoids. (external link)

Academic book chapter

• Harsh Nitin Dongre; Daniela Elena Costea (2022). Tumor-Fibroblast Interactions in Carcinomas. (external link)

See a complete overview of publications in Cristin.

• Metabolic reprogramming of normal oral fibroblasts correlated with increased glycolytic metabolism of oral squamous cell carcinoma and precedes their activation into carcinoma associated fibroblasts. Zhuoyuan Zhang, Zhenjie Gao, Saroj Rajthala, Dipak Sapkota, Harsh Dongre, Himalaya Parajuli, Salwa Suliman, Ridhima Das, Longjiang Li, Laurence A Bindoff, Daniela Elena Costea, Xiao Liang; Cellular and molecular life sciences, March 2020

• Establishment of a novel cancer cell line derived from vulvar carcinoma associated with lichen sclerosus exhibiting a fibroblast-dependent tumorigenic potential. Harsh Dongre, Neha Rana, Siren Fromreide, Saroj Rajthala, Ingeborg Bøe Engelsen, Justine Paradis, J Silvio Gutkind, Olav Karsten Vintermyr, Anne Christine Johannessen, Line Bjørge, Daniela Elena Costea; Experimental cell research; January 2020

• Role of Electron Microscopy in Early Detection of Altered Epithelium During Experimental Oral Carcinogenesis. Sharada Sawant, Harsh Dongre, Deepak Kanojia, Sayli Jamghare, Anita Borges, Milind Vaidya; Microscopy and microanalysis; December 2019

• Aberrant expression of vimentin predisposes oral premalignant lesion derived cells towards transformation. Crismita Dmello, Sharada Sawant, Pratik Rajeev Chaudhari, Harsh Dongre, Chetan Ahire, Zinia Charlotte D'Souza, Silvania Emlit Charles, Pallavi Rane, Daniela Elena Costea, Davendra Chaukar, Shubhada Kane, Milind Vaidya; Experimental and Molecular pathology; December 2018

• Prognostic significance of elevated serum CD44 levels in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma. Sharada Sawant, Chetan Ahire, Harsh Dongre, Shriya Joshi, Sayli Jamghare, Pallavi Rane, Shubhada Kane, Devendra Chaukar; Journal of oral pathology and medicine; August 2018

• Alterations in desmosomal adhesion at protein and ultrastructure levels during the sequential progressive grades of human oral tumorigenesis. Sharada Sawant, Harsh Dongre, Chetan Ahire, Shilpi Sharma, Sayli Jamghare, Yashvi Kansara, Pallavi Rane, Deepak Kanojia, Asawari Patil, Devendra Chaukar, Sudeep Gupta, Anil D'Cruz, Milind Vaidya, Prabhakar Dongre; European journal of oral sciences; August 2018

• A nomogram for predicting the risk of neck node metastasis in pathologically node-negative oral cavity carcinoma. S S Sawant, H Dongre, C Ahire, S Sharma, S Kannan, S Mahadik, D Chaukar, F Lukmani, A Patil, A D'Cruz, M M Vaidya, P Dongre; Oral diseases; November 2017

• Establishment of 3D Co-Culture Models from Different Stages of Human Tongue Tumorigenesis: Utility in Understanding Neoplastic Progression. Sharada Sawant, Harsh Dongre, Archana Kumari Singh, Shriya Joshi, Daniela Elena Costea, Snehal Mahadik, Chetan Ahire, Vidhi Makani, Prerana Dange, Shilpi Sharma, Devendra Chaukar, Milind Vaidya; PLoS one; August 2016

• Vimentin-mediated regulation of cell motility through modulation of beta4 integrin protein levels in oral tumor derived cells. Crismita Dmello, Sharada Sawant, Hunain Alam, Prakash Gangadaran, Richa Tiwari, Harsh Dongre, Neha Rana, Sai Barve, Daniela Elena Costea, Davendra Chaukar, Shubhada Kane, Harish Pant, Milind Vaidya; The international journal of biochemistry and cell biology; January 2016

• Prognostic role of Oct4, CD44 and c-Myc in radio-chemo-resistant oral cancer patients and their tumourigenic potential in immunodeficient mice. Sharada Sawant, Ravindran Gokulan, Harsh Dongre, Milind Vaidya, Devendra Chaukar, Kumar Prabhash, Arvind Ingle, Shriya Joshi, Prerana Dange, Shreyas Joshi, Archana Kumari Singh, Vidhi Makani, Shilpi Sharma, Ashok Jeyaram, Shubhada Kane, Anil D'Cruz; Clinical oral investigations; January 2016

 

1. The role of tumour stroma in oral and vulvar carcinogenesis: understanding the fibroblasts heterogeneity 

2. Investigation of nanoparticles as theranostics in oral cancer

3. Investigation of miRNA deregulations as a source of biomarkers in head and neck and vulvar carcinoma