MRC DTP in Precision Medicine

HOMEOSTATIC COMPOSITION OF THE PERIPHERAL BLOOD IMMUNE LANDSCAPE OF HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA (HCC) PATIENTS IN ASSOCIATION WITH RESPONSE TO IMMUNE CHECKPOINTS

Supervisors 

Professor, Maria Libera Ascierto, School of Cancer Sciences, University of Glasgow 

Professor Jeff Evans, School of Cancer Sciences, University of Glasgow 

 

Summary

Immunotherapy, including immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI), is successful only in some tumors and, even among these types, not all patients derive clinical benefit. Some ICI approvals are complemented by companion diagnostic biomarkers to help select patients more likely to respond to treatment. Currently, these biomarkers are mainly based on the assessment done in tissue specimens and have shown limited utility.  Strategies are then needed to better identify patients that will benefit from ICI alone or who may require additional therapies like chemotherapy or more targeted approaches to overcome resistance. In doing so, the identification of biomarkers using more accessible patients’ specimens, such as peripheral blood and urine, remain of critical importance and offer a less invasive modality compared to tumour biopsies. 

Here we aim to use a Cytek spectral flow cytometry equipment to precisely elucidate the homeostatic composition of the peripheral blood immune landscape of Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) Patients in association with their response to novel immune checkpoints. In doing so, an in-dept focus on the role played by innate immunity (e.g. neutrophils, and NK cells) in ICI response, will be unleashed. Data will be analyzed in association with clinical outcomes and results will be analyzed using bioinformatic programs such as R.