Project description
Understanding soft tissue sarcoma ecosystems to improve immunotherapy
Soft tissue sarcomas (STS) include seven subtypes of aggressive cancers with poor prognosis. Novel treatments, such as immunotherapy, have limited success as a result of insufficient understanding of STS as ecosystems comprising tumour cells and the cellular microenvironment. Funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the CASSIS project aims to uncover the complex cellular diversity and interactions in STS ecosystems linked to disease progression. The application of single-cell transcriptomics and proteomics in combination with 32-plex immunofluorescence imaging will provide information about the tumour and immune cell diversity in all STS subtypes. The project will create the first single-cell atlas for STS subtypes and will enable functional assessment of drugs and candidates for immunotherapy clinical trials.
Objective
Soft tissue sarcomas (STS) are rare, aggressive cancers. About 50% of patients with high-risk STS die within 5 years after diagnosis, highlighting the need for novel treatment approaches. A major obstacle for novel treatment design is our limited understanding of STS as ecosystems, shaped by diverse tumor cells and their interactions with cells of the microenvironment. Emerging strategies that target cellular relationships in STS are promising, such as immune checkpoint inhibition. First clinical trials assessing immune checkpoint inhibition were promising, but success varied greatly among different STS subtypes and a rational selection of patients was not available. A comprehensive description of the complex cellular diversity and interactions in STS tumor ecosystems and links to disease progression are currently missing. Here we will combine simultaneous detection of single-cell transcriptomes and cell surface proteins with 32-plex immunofluorescence imaging to characterize STS tumor and immune cell diversity with single-cell spatial resolution in seven STS subtypes. The STS subtypes include dedifferentiated liposarcoma, Ewing sarcoma, myxoid/round cell liposarcoma, clear cell sarcoma, desmoplastic small round cell tumor, fibromyxoid sarcoma, and solitary fibrous tumor, present with poor prognosis and are promising candidates for immunotherapies. Objectives are (1) to characterize the cellular diversity and tumor-immune interactions in STS ecosystems using simultaneous single-cell transcriptomics and cell surface proteomics, (2) to profile the STS immunoenvironment with single-cell spatial resolution in situ, and (3) to functionally assess candidate tumor-immune interactions in vitro. This project will provide the first single-cell atlas for seven STS subtypes and will enable a better understanding of STS tumor ecosystems, pave the way for novel precision oncology approaches, and facilitate the identification of candidates for immunotherapy clinical trials.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins proteomics
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics RNA transcriptomes
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine oncology
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology ecosystems
- medical and health sciences basic medicine immunology immunotherapy
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Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2021-PF-01
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69120 Heidelberg
Germany
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