Periodic Reporting for period 1 - REACT (Reprogramming of Tumor Stroma to Enhance Cancer Immunotherapy)
Okres sprawozdawczy: 2024-06-01 do 2025-11-30
Immunotherapies such as immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and CAR T cells can induce durable responses in some cancers, yet their efficacy in solid tumors remains limited. A major driver of resistance is the hostile tumor microenvironment (TME), which restricts effector immune-cell infiltration or can suppress their function even after they reach the tumor. Although several combination strategies have been developed to boost immunotherapy activity, many are associated with substantial toxicity, underscoring the need for new approaches that selectively target TME components that shape anti-tumor immunity.
Building on our ERC Consolidator Grant project, the overall objectives of this proposal were to develop novel therapeutic strategies targeting structural components of the TME and evaluate combination regimens designed to enhance the efficacy of immunotherapies in solid tumors.
Building on our ERC Consolidator Grant project, the overall objectives of this proposal were to develop novel therapeutic strategies targeting structural components of the TME and evaluate combination regimens designed to enhance the efficacy of immunotherapies in solid tumors.
During this project, we characterized therapeutic agents targeting the TME of solid tumors in collaboration with industrial partners. Our key achievements were the identification of lead agent candidates that induced anti-tumor activity in vivo, together with the optimization of a window for co-treatment when combined with current standard therapies. In parallel, we initiated collaborations with experts to expand the translational aspects of these efforts
We identified novel therapeutic agents to improve the treatment of solid tumors. These findings have generated renewed interest from potential investors and industrial partners to further advance this concept and, potentially, extend it to additional mechanisms of resistance in solid tumors, opening new avenues for research and therapeutic development.