Onco-immunology

Research works

The OncoImmunology Axis: An integrated multidisciplinary approach to cancer immune surveillance and immune evasion

Research over the past 20 years has highlighted the key role of immunity in the development of malignant tumours and has demonstrated that immunotherapy is a new and highly effective weapon in the fight against cancer. However, immunotherapeutic strategies need to be optimised to establish the best compromise between clinical benefits and adverse effects and to become beneficial to a larger fraction patients. Due to the great heterogeneity and complexity of tumour immune escape mechanisms, the development of integrated multidisciplinary approaches becomes mandatory.

The OncoImmunology axis of the CRCT aims to promote collaboration between several teams by studying the cancer/immune confrontation through different but complementary approaches. The research of these teams focuses on:

• Tumor antigens and antigenic specificity of tumour-infiltrating T lymphocytes;
• Expression and signalling of immune checkpoint molecules;
• Molecular mechanisms regulating immunological synapses formed between immune cells and cancer cells;
• Metabolic pathways regulating anti-tumour immune surveillance;
• Immune surveillance in haematological malignancies.

Interestingly, several teams belonging to the OncoImmunology axis collaborate with mathematicians and computer scientists for the analysis of complex datasets and the modelling of the immune system/tumour confrontation (v).

One of the strengths of the OncoImmunology axis is its strong translational potential based on effective collaboration between fundamental immunologists and haematologists and oncologists. Research is inspired by clinical studies and produces results that can be rapidly translated into on-site clinical trials.  OncoImmunology teams meet twice a month in the Immunology Joint Lab Meetings (iJLM) programme to present their results, discuss protocols and share ideas.

The OncoImmunology Axis is coordinated by Ludovic Martinet.