IMMUTRAIN · Training Network for the Immunotherapy of Cancer

Training Network for the Immunotherapy of Cancer

In the European Union, cancer is the leading cause of death and the overall incidence of cancer is still increasing. Currently, the prognostics indicate that 50 % of men and 40 % of women will be diagnosed with cancer during their lifetime. As a result of expanding efforts to improve cancer outcome, a main paradigm change is occurring in cancer therapy towards individualized medicine: The treatments do not target the tumor itself anymore but empower the immune system of the patients in order to support the development of an adequate immune response. The importance of immunotherapy has been highlighted by the prestigious Science journal as “breakthrough of the year 2013”, heralding its rising importance for the next decades. From 2014 to 2016 only, an estimated 39.000 publications have been released in this field. In the meanwhile, more than thirty compounds have been tested in phase III clinical trials. The private sector increasingly invests resources in immunotherapy of cancer. Accordingly, the need for well-trained and skilled researchers in academia and industry is rapidly rising in this field. In response to this, the innovative training network of IMMUTRAIN has developed a pioneering program of education for young researchers in nine different European countries: It combines cutting edge research of antibody- based therapies with a range of courses enhancing knowledge and skills. Ten academic labs and five industrial research groups are involved in the program, bringing together experts in the fields of monoclonal antibodies, dendritic cells, T-cells and immunomodulatory nucleic acids as well as trainers specialized in the development of scientific management and related competencies. Despite considerable advancements, many tumor entities still show resistance to classical antibody therapies. The scientific objective of IMMUTRAIN is to improve the efficacy of antibody-based therapies through combination with synergistic immunotherapeutic approaches. Hence, the research program compiles four different work packages: 1. Combination of antibodies with adoptive T cell transfer 2. New formulations and combinations of antibodies to activate immune cells 3. Combination of antibodies with dendritic cell therapy 4. Target discovery and validation for antibody combination therapies

Data: CORDIS, © European Union