The biggest breakthrough in cancer therapy in the last decade has been immunotherapy. With its help, the body’s own immune system can be empowered to fight cancer cells itself. Unfortunately, many types of cancer are resistant to these new drugs, for example in around 80% of colorectal cancer patients. The decisive factor here is not only the cancer cells themselves, but also the surrounding tissue, the tumour microenvironment. In this study in preclinical models, the researchers from the Georg-Speyer-Haus, the LOEWE-FCI, the FAU of the DKFZ/DKTK and Goethe University have now discovered that the inhibition of a specific factor (ZEB1) in the connective tissue cells in the tumour microenvironment makes the cancer susceptible to immunotherapies.
“It will be several years before the results can be transferred to the clinic. In any case, the molecular mechanism that we show here is a valuable step towards understanding the mode of action of immunotherapies and the tumour microenvironment,” says Henner Farin, head of the research group.
The next step is now a more detailed characterisation of the interactions of different cell types in the tumour microenvironment.
Original Publication: DOI: 10.1038/s44319-024-00186-7
PD Dr. Henner Farin
Georg-Speyer-Haus
Institut für Tumorbiologie
und experimentelle Therapie
Paul-Ehrlich-Str. 42-44
60596 Frankfurt am Main
Tel.: +49-(0)69-63395-520
e-mail: h.farin@georg-speyer-haus.de