Innovative Therapeutics

Tumor cells develop resistance to anti-cancer therapies through intricate and multifaceted mechanisms, which can be tumor cell intrinsic or extrinsic, and include the stromal tumor microenvironment (TME) components in the primary tumor and distal metastatic sites. The overreaching goal of the HMNCC Innovative Therapeutics (IT) Program is to elucidate and target mechanisms of therapy resistance, with emphasis on both tumor cell intrinsic and TME-associated resistance mechanisms, using state-of-the-art spatial biology technologies and cutting-edge drug targeting or delivery approaches, as well as developing innovative anticancer treatments notably for cancer types of importance to the catchment area.

The IT program has three main scientific aims:

• To elucidate and target tumor cell intrinsic resistance mechanisms
• Target major TME components, such as fibroblasts, adipocytes, the bone marrow, and the metastatic niche (e.g., astrocytes in the brain, perivascular and osteogenic niche in the bone microenvironment, and airway smooth muscle cells in the lung) to overcome therapy resistance, using preclinical models
• Translate HMNCC scientific discoveries into early-phase clinical trials.