Coordinated by Professor Christophe Borg and Doctor Romain Loyon, the axis “Tumor Immune Microenvironment” organizes its scientific activity around two topics:
Topic 1: T cell activation in the tumor microenvironment – team led by Dr. Romain Loyon The effectiveness of immunotherapies for the treatment of metastatic cancers with low mutational burden is still below expectations. Therefore, the identification of new tumor antigens associated with the oncogenesis of these cancers is one of the major challenges of our group. In addition, this group seeks to understand the molecular mechanisms regulating the activity of the T cell immunological synapse within the tumor microenvironment in order to optimize the efficacy of cellular therapy approaches.
Topic 2: Immune microenvironment of liver metastases – team led by Prof. Christophe Borg and Dr. Angélique Viennot Tumor cells are capable of modulating their environment, particularly fibroblasts present in neighboring tissues. The group aims to understand how TGF-β controls certain subtypes of CAFs (Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts) and how these CAFs can modulate the tumor microenvironment and lymphocyte infiltration, especially during chemo-immunotherapy treatments. Furthermore, cancer can regulate the differentiation profiles of CD4 T cells and TRM specific to these antigens in the tumor microenvironment. A program dedicated to studying TH1/TH17 and TRM differentiation in TILs has therefore been established.
These two topics are today major challenges for the development of effective anti-cancer immunotherapies. Based on clinical observations and patient needs, the group conducts biological and preclinical analyses to advance the development of immunotherapies. Recently, the team initiated the VolATIL clinical trial (NCT03946358), in which patients with HPV+ cancers are treated with a peptide vaccine derived from tumor antigens in combination with an anti-PD-L1 antibody. This research framework is made possible thanks to the multidisciplinary nature of the group and its organization around the expertise of each member. It also relies on the unit’s platforms as well as numerous patient cohorts already established and available. The work is further supported by strong collaborations with other teams in Besançon, Switzerland, and the United States.
