New precision immunotherapies against pancreatic cancer

María J. Vicent

Príncipe Felipe Research Center Foundation (CIPF), Valencia, Spain

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most aggressive tumours due to its early spread, lack of specific early symptoms and late diagnosis. While it is not one of the most common cancers, its incidence is increasing worldwide. Diagnosis usually occurs at a late stage, when the tumour is highly advanced or metastatic. Most patients do not survive more than a year after diagnosis.

Despite the tremendous progress immunotherapies have made in treating other tumours with similarly poor prognoses, such as melanoma and lung cancer, in the case of pancreatic cancer these revolutionary treatments have not worked as effectively. Ninety-five percent of cases are pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas which develop resistance to treatment through two mechanisms: on the one hand, the tumours are fibrotic masses that prevent drug penetration, and on the other, the tumour microenvironment is immunosuppressive.

In this context, the current project will aim to elucidate the role of the tumour microenvironment in blocking immunity. To achieve this, the team will study the interaction between various components of the tumour tissue and immune cells, seeking to uncover the main barriers associated with the poor response of pancreatic tumours to immunotherapies. The ultimate goal is to develop dual nanoimmunotherapies that can re-train the host immune response against the tumour, restore the stromal balance and generate an effective local immune response. This approach will induce activation of the immune response in the long term to prevent future recurrences in the form of metastasis.

• Helena F. Florindo, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal

• Ronit Satchi-Fainaro, Faculty of Medicine. Tel Aviv University, Israel

Precision ImmuneNanoTherapy targeting tumor-immune-stroma interactions against pancreatic cancer (PINT)

€999,999.40