Proof-of-concept for novel combination strategies with immunotherapy to treat solid tumors.

Cancer immunotherapy strategies leave room for improvement. Given that a 'one-size-fits-all' approach is not the solution due to tumor heterogeneity, personalized therapy is the way forward. It is my mission to overcome hard-to-treat solid tumors and to push boundaries in achieving effective personalized immunotherapies. To accomplish this, the immunosuppressive nature of the tumor microenvironment needs to be overcome, allowing to significantly reduce its hampering effect on the activation and the infiltration of immune cells in tumors. My team recently demonstrated the power of certain activated immune cells to kill both cancer cells and cells of the tumor microenvironment that contribute to immunosuppression. With a view to further enhance antitumor effects, me and my team will unravel different inhibitory mechanisms that hamper antitumor immune cell responses and use these new insights to develop effective and personalized therapies that combine direct activation of immune cells with inhibition of immunosuppression. In the current 2-year project, we will gather novel tumor immunology data on 1) characterization of the tumor microenvironment, 2) interactions between tumor cells and immune cells, 3) relevant targeted treatment strategies and 4) biomarker identification; as important proofs-of-concept to further strengthen my European and consortium project applications in the near future.

Keywords:CANCER IMMUNOTHERAPY, IMMUNOTHERAPY, CANCER TREATMENT

Disciplines:Cancer therapy