Research2025-02-10T15:30:00+00:00

Shaping the future of metastatic cancer immunotherapy

Towards effective treatments

across ages and tumour types

Guided by scientific expertise and patient voices

A broader perspective on cancer research

Immunotherapy has yet to deliver on its promise for many patients, particularly those with metastatic tumours. At Mac4Me, we are working to change this, aiming to create a holistic, people-driven understanding of metastatic tumours.

By using cutting-edge tools and patient insights, we ensure that our work addresses real-world needs and sets new standards for healthcare innovation.

Research objectives  

Explore the relationship between the tumour microenvironment and aging2024-11-27T10:08:09+00:00

Study how interactions between macrophages and tumour cells affect the tumour environment and how aging influences this process

Study early tumour invasion and test targeted treatments2024-11-27T10:08:48+00:00

Create organ-on-chip models to examine how tumour cells invade healthy tissues at an early stage, and test targeted treatments using macrophage-specific compounds

Identify new targets for early-stage metastasis therapies2024-11-27T10:09:29+00:00

Compare changes in the environment of early metastasis with established metastases, using AI and systems biology to find new treatment targets

Focusing on the biggest treatment gaps

Three highly prevalent tumours with shared metastatic targets

Our work explores various aspects of three key cancer types with particularly poor responses to current immunotherapies: neuroblastoma, breast cancer, and prostate cancer. These cancers affect a significant portion of the population, with approximately 300,000 new diagnoses each year across the European Union. They are also linked by their shared tendency to metastasize to the brain, bone, and liver. Over 60% of patients are expected to develop metastases in one of these three tissues, all with poor survival outcomes.

WP2 – Studying macrophage and cancer cell interactions

DC2

Impact of macrophage aging on tumour cell and extracellular matrix interactions.

DC3

Characterisation of macrophage metabolism and ageing in the brain metastatic microenvironment of neuroblastoma in response to therapy.

DC4

Therapy response of PCa/BCa tumour cells to Standard of Care (SoC) therapies in the context of the age-relevant and liver-specific microenvironment.

DC5

Treatment sensitivity of BCa/PCa tumour cells to SoC therapies in the context of the age-relevant and bone-specific microenvironment. 

DC6

Quantifying biomechanical changes as a result of tumour-macrophage interaction induced by the first interaction with invading cancer cells.

DC17

Identification, characterisation, and manipulation of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) in the ageing matrix.

DC18

Development and optimisation of bespoke age-specific hydrogel formulation for modelling the liver.

WP3 – Exploring organ-specific responses and pathways

DC1

Identification of macrophage function and matrix composition changes induced by the first interaction with invading prostate and breast cancer cells in the liver organ-on-chip model.

DC7

Generation, differentiation, and functional features of organ-specific macrophages and the impact of macrophage ontogeny on interaction with metastasizing tumour cells.

DC8

Characterization of the role of macrophages in the formation of breast and prostate cancer (BCa, PCa)-induced OoC bone metastasis.

DC9

Identification of macrophage function induced by the first interaction with invading neuroblastoma (NB) cells in the brain and liver OoC model.

DC10

Development and optimization of a multicompartmental OoC with macrophages neuroblastoma cancer (NB) cells in circulation around brain and liver target tissues.

DC16

Identification of microglia function and matrix composition changes induced by the first interaction with invading prostate cancer (PCa) cells in the mini-brain OoC model.

WP4 – Performing patient-centred studies

DC11

Spatial multiplexed immunofluorescence profiling of patient tumour tissue samples collected from brain/bone/liver metastases of the different cancer types.

DC12

Immunoprofiling of publicly available RNA sequencing data from patient metastasis samples and systems biology pipeline setup.

DC13

AI and data integration to define new (macrophage/immune) targets.

DC14

Epistemic inclusion in cancer research: building a knowledge coalition.

DC15

Cancer Research: Understanding Perceptions, Innovating Communication, and Fostering Inclusivity

Training beyond research

Find out more about our programme

We empower our fellows with more than just scientific expertise. Through training in communication, leadership, and innovation, we prepare researchers to thrive in every dimension of their careers.

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This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) under Grant Agreement No. 101168661 This page reflects only the authors’ views and the European Commission/INEA is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.

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