Adaptive immune recognition of cancer
Immunotherapy has revolutionized cancer treatment. However, only one-third of patients respond
to the treatment. As these drugs are very expensive, it is of utmost importance to identify
biomarkers that can accurately predict response.
Cancer immunotherapy exerts its effect by augmenting the adaptive immune recognition of tumor cells. Higher tumor immunogenicity is associated with a better response rate. Several tumor types are generally more immunogenic but even samples belonging to the same tumor type have highly variable immunogenicity.
We examine factors that determine the adaptive immune recognition of cancer. In addition to the promiscuity of HLA molecules (link to other project), we examine the relationship between certain HLA-I and HLA-II variants and the immune phenotype of tumors. We also focus on the effect of mutational signatures on tumor immunogenicity. These signatures are associated with exposure to certain mutagens or abnormal DNA repair mechanisms.
Cancer immunotherapy exerts its effect by augmenting the adaptive immune recognition of tumor cells. Higher tumor immunogenicity is associated with a better response rate. Several tumor types are generally more immunogenic but even samples belonging to the same tumor type have highly variable immunogenicity.
We examine factors that determine the adaptive immune recognition of cancer. In addition to the promiscuity of HLA molecules (link to other project), we examine the relationship between certain HLA-I and HLA-II variants and the immune phenotype of tumors. We also focus on the effect of mutational signatures on tumor immunogenicity. These signatures are associated with exposure to certain mutagens or abnormal DNA repair mechanisms.
