Gastrointestinal Cancer models

With the advancement of immunotherapies, new cancer models are needed that mimic both the tumour cells as well as the normal body cells present in cancer tissues to test the effectiveness of therapies. We develop novel murine cancer models by establishing organoids, 3-D miniature organ-like structures, from gastric and colorectal cancers tissues. These organoids represent new models enabling the testing of genetic variation in the tumour cells or the tumour microenvironment selectively and the testing of new immunotherapies.

Cytokine signalling

Cytokines are signalling molecules that mediate the crosstalk between cancer cells and the normal cells within cancerous tissue. Depending on the source of the cytokine and the responding cell type, the impact can either be tumour promoting or tumour inhibitory. We are studying two cytokine signalling pathways, IL33/ST2 and IL6/IL11/STAT3. Both are highly active in gastro-intestinal cancers and generate an immunosuppressive microenvironment. We study how they promote primary tumour growth, metastasis formation and responses to (immuno)therapies.

Immunotherapy

Immunotherapies are drugs that manipulate the body’s own immune cells to attack cancers. One class of immunotherapies, the immune checkpoint inhibitors, has strongly improved therapy outcomes for many different cancer types. However, in gastric and colorectal cancer only a minority of patients respond to these therapies. We study the role of cytokine signalling in the anti-tumour responses to immune checkpoint blockade. Additionally, we investigate if inhibition of these cytokine signalling pathways can improve the efficacy of immunotherapies against gastric and colorectal cancers.