(Re)installing Cancer Immunity in Pancreatic Cancer and Cancers of the Upper GI Tract (22)

• Subject Area: Gastroenterology
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 318346496

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is highly resistant to current treatments and is expected to become a leading cause of cancer deaths. Standard chemotherapy is largely ineffective, and immunotherapies fail due to the tumor’s immunosuppressive, “cold” microenvironment. A new therapeutic approach combines tumor-targeting monoclonal antibodies with RNA-encoded optimized IL-2 to stimulate intratumor immune responses. Using human PDAC tissue cultures and genetically modified mouse models, we are optimizing this strategy to overcome PDAC’s treatment resistance in translational preclinical model systems.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1292: Targeting convergent mechanisms of inefficient immunity in tumors and chronic infections
• Applicant Institution: Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz
• Project Heads: Professor Dr. Matthias Gaida; Professorin Dr. Özlem Türeci