Giunco Silvia.pdf

RESEARCH INTERESTS AND CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
Dr. Silvia Giunco earned her Ph.D. in Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology and Geriatrics from the University of Padua, where her doctoral research focused on elucidating the role of apo(a) isoforms and their fragments in atherosclerosis-related complications.
Since 2010, her scientific interests have progressively evolved toward exploring the interplay between telomeres and the telomerase complex in tumorigenesis. She has developed extensive expertise in molecular techniques for quantifying telomere length, TERT mRNA levels, and telomerase activity.
Through collaborative clinical studies, Dr. Giunco has contributed to demonstrating that telomere length, TERT expression, and TERT promoter mutations represent independent prognostic factors in both solid and hematologic malignancies. Notably, her work revealed that telomere length in the non-malignant mucosa adjacent to head and neck tumors reflects field cancerization and predicts local recurrence.
In plasma-based studies, she helped establish that plasma TERT mRNA quantification serves as a minimally invasive biomarker for early tumor detection, disease monitoring, and assessment of response to neoadjuvant therapy.
Her in vitro research has provided key insights into the extra-telomeric roles of TERT in oncogenesis. Specifically, she demonstrated that TERT is crucial for the establishment and maintenance of Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) latency, while its inhibition triggers the EBV lytic cycle and induces cell death. Further studies showed that elevated TERT levels confer resistance to apoptosis induced by antineoplastic agents, and that telomerase inhibition—independent of telomere shortening—leads to random DNA damage, reduced proliferation, and increased cancer cell death both in vitro and in vivo. These findings highlight TERT’s extra-telomeric functions and its potential as a therapeutic target in both virus-dependent and virus-independent B-cell malignancies.
More recently, Dr. Giunco’s work has expanded to the study of immune and biological aging, demonstrating that elderly individuals with an accelerated aging profile are more prone to cancer development and progression.
Current Research Interests:
i) Telomere and telomerase biology in tumorigenesis
ii) Extra-telomeric functions of telomerase in EBV-driven and EBV-independent B-cell and other hematological malignancies
iii) Immune and biological aging in high-risk cancer populations

1. Giunco S, Petrara MR, Indraccolo S, Ciminale V, De Rossi A. Beyond Telomeres: Unveiling the Extratelomeric Functions of TERT in B-Cell Malignancies. Cancers (Basel). 2025 Mar 30;17(7):1165. 
2. Giunco S, Del Mistro A, Morello M, Lidonnici J, Frayle H, Gori S, De Rossi A, Boscolo-Rizzo P. From infection to immortality: The role of HPV and telomerase in head and neck cancer. Oral Oncol. 2025 Feb;161:107169. 
3. Amin A, Morello M, Petrara MR, Rizzo B, Argenton F, De Rossi A, Giunco S. Short-Term TERT Inhibition Impairs Cellular Proliferation via a Telomere Length-Independent Mechanism and Can Be Exploited as a Potential Anticancer Approach. Cancers (Basel). 2023 May 9;15(10):2673. 
4. Giunco S, Padovan M, Angelini C, Cavallin F, Cerretti G, Morello M, Caccese M, Rizzo B, d'Avella D, Della Puppa A, Chioffi F, De Bonis P, Zagonel V, De Rossi A, Lombardi G. Prognostic role and interaction of TERT promoter status, telomere length and MGMT promoter methylation in newly diagnosed IDH wild-type glioblastoma patients. ESMO Open. 2023 Jun;8(3):101570.
5. Giunco S, Boscolo-Rizzo P, Rampazzo E, Tirelli G, Alessandrini L, Di Carlo R, Rossi M, Nicolai P, Menegaldo A, Carraro V, Tofanelli M, Bandolin L, Spinato G, Emanuelli E, Mantovani M, Stellin M, Bussani R, Dei Tos AP, Guido M, Morello M, Fussey J, Esposito G, Polesel J, De Rossi A. TERT Promoter Mutations and rs2853669 Polymorphism: Useful Markers for Clinical Outcome Stratification of Patients With Oral Cavity Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Front Oncol. 2021 Nov 10;11:782658.
6. Rampazzo E, Cecchin E, Del Bianco P, Menin C, Spolverato G, Giunco S, Lonardi S, Malacrida S, De Paoli A, Toffoli G, Pucciarelli S, De Rossi A. Genetic Variants of the TERT Gene, Telomere Length, and Circulating TERT as Prognostic Markers in Rectal Cancer Patients. Cancers (Basel). 2020 Oct 25;12(11):3115.
7. Giunco S, Zangrossi M, Dal Pozzolo F, Celeghin A, Ballin G, Petrara MR, Amin A, Argenton F, Godinho Ferreira M, De Rossi A. Anti-Proliferative and Pro-Apoptotic Effects of Short-Term Inhibition of Telomerase In Vivo and in Human Malignant B Cells Xenografted in Zebrafish. Cancers (Basel). 2020 Jul 25;12(8):2052.
8. Giunco S, Petrara MR, Bergamo F, Del Bianco P, Zanchetta M, Carmona F, Zagonel V, De Rossi A, Lonardi S. Immune senescence and immune activation in elderly colorectal cancer patients. Aging (Albany NY). 2019 Jun 13;11(11):3864-3875.
9. Celeghin A, Giunco S, Freguja R, Zangrossi M, Nalio S, Dolcetti R, De Rossi A. Short-term inhibition of TERT induces telomere length-independent cell cycle arrest and apoptotic response in EBV-immortalized and transformed B cells. Cell Death Dis. 2016;7:e2562.
10. Giunco S, Celeghin A, Gianesin K, Dolcetti R, Indraccolo S, De Rossi A. Cross talk between EBV and telomerase: the role of TERT and NOTCH2 in the switch of latent/lytic cycle of the virus. Cell Death Dis. 2015;6:e1774.
11. Boscolo-Rizzo P, Rampazzo E, Perissinotto E, Piano MA, Giunco S, Baboci L, Spinato G, Spinato R, Tirelli G, Da Mosto MC, Del Mistro A, De Rossi A. Telomere shortening in mucosa surrounding the tumor: biosensor of field cancerization and prognostic marker of mucosal failure in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Oral Oncol. 2015;51(5):500-7.
12. Giunco S, Dolcetti R, Keppel S, Celeghin A, Indraccolo S, Dal Col J, Mastorci K, De Rossi A. hTERT inhibition triggers Epstein-Barr virus lytic cycle and apoptosis in immortalized and transformed B cells: a basis for new therapies. Clin Cancer Res. 2013;19(8):2036-47.