Understanding how our immune system gets organised against cancer

Ana Martínez

Asociación Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Biogipuzkoa, Spain

The immune system plays a crucial role in controlling the development and growth of tumours. The proper organisation of immune cells within tumours is linked to longer patient survival and a better response to immunotherapy, suggesting that local well-organised immune responses help the body fight cancer more effectively. However, little is known about how this organisation develops and matures or how it supports anti-tumoral responses. This project aims to uncover the cellular processes that enable effective local immune responses to develop inside tumours and determine what makes them work efficiently.

The team, which brings together expertise in cancer immunology, tumour biology and translational research, will investigate which cellular populations and factors influence the formation and function of these organised immune responses. The researchers will also examine how specific therapies could strengthen them.

The results could reveal new ways to promote effective local immune responses in patients whose tumours currently respond poorly to treatment. Understanding these mechanisms may guide the design of treatments that transform the tumour environment into a place where the immune system can act more effectively against cancer.

Deciphering the immune-stromal foundations driving tertiary lymphoid structures in cancer

€469,600.00