Tumor immunity

Cancer immunotherapy is a new and extremely exciting option for cancer treatment. Cancer immunotherapy functions by using the patient’s own immunity to attack the cancer cells. In many cases, however, it has been reported that immune cells are deemed to be suppressed in the tumors. In fact, anti-PD-1 antibody, which resuscitates dysfunctioned cytotoxic-T lymphocytes against cancer antigens, has been validated as an anti-tumor drug recently. Other than PD-1, immunosuppressive cells such as regulatory T cells (Tregs), myeloid-derived suppressor-cells (MDSCs), Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are suspected for pivotal factors against anti-tumor immunity. Our lab is researching the mechanisms responsible for this immune suppression in tumors by examining patient’s tissue and blood. Normally, these samples are small, but we have been optimizing methods and analysis to study the above immune cells extracted from the tumors. Our goal is to understand the mechanism of tumor immune regulation for the development of new immunotherapy strategies and targets.