Radioimmunotherapy strategies for pediatric tumors
“Our goal is to develop effective therapeutic strategies against childhood tumors without compromising patients' quality of life.”
DR. SARA LABIANO ALMIÑANA RESEARCHER. RESEARCH GROUP IN RADIO-IMMUNOTHERAPY STRATEGIES FOR PEDIATRIC TUMORS
There is increasing evidence on the interaction between the nervous system and the immune system in different pathologies including cancer.
Therefore, our group, integrated in the Cancer Center Clínica Universidad de Navarra, studies the immune component within the tumor as well as in response to radiotherapy, a key element in the treatment of childhood brain tumors, for the development of effective therapeutic strategies.
At the same time, we know that neuroinflammation is behind the causes that generate cognitive impairment in patients with early brain tumors. Therefore, another pillar of our research focuses on the development of neuroprotective therapies that ensure the quality of life of patients once the disease is overcome.
Dra. Sara Labiano Almiñana
GROUP LEADER
| +34 948 194 700 | Ext. 81 3032 | |
| slalminana@unav.es | |
| Research profile |
Oncology research integrated in the
Cancer Center Clinica Universidad de Navarra
Objectives of the Radio-immunotherapy strategies for pediatric tumors. Research Group
Immunomodulation of the tumor microenvironment as a treatment for diffuse midline glioma in the spinal cord.
Development of radio and immunotherapy combinations for pediatric brain tumors.
Study of the role of neuroinflammation in cognitive impairment after brain radiotherapy and development of mitigation strategies using different models of childhood brain tumors.
The immune microenvironment of tumors and neuroinflammation
Through the study of patient samples and animal models we characterize with techniques such as single cell transcriptomics or spatial transcriptomics the immune microenvironment of tumors as well as the neuroinflammation generated by radiotherapy to find possible targets and develop therapeutic strategies.
Lines of research
PI: Sara Labiano and Jaime Gállego
Diffuse midline glioma (DMG) is a pediatric tumor with a very poor prognosis and for which there are currently no effective treatments. Although the vast majority of cases occur in the brainstem and thalamus, in this project we have focused on the study of those DGM located in the spinal cord, for which until now there were no orthotopic and immunocompetent pre-clinical models that would allow us to rigorously study their microenvironment as well as specific translational therapies for this location.
Objectives:
Characterization of the immune microenvironment of spinal cord MGD and development of a spinal cord MGD model for the translational study of immunotherapies against this disease.
PI: Sara Labiano
For pediatric patients with brain tumors, radiotherapy is one of the mainstays of treatment. However, in those patients with MGD, radiotherapy barely manages to extend survival. In this project we study new immunotherapy strategies to enhance the effects of radiotherapy focusing on myeloid cells, which are also the most frequent immune population in MGD, as targets to initiate and coordinate an effective and long-lasting antitumor response.
Objectives:
Study of different radio-immunotherapies directed against the myeloid tumor component, as well as their mechanism of action.
PI: Sara Labiano
Although radiotherapy is a key treatment for brain tumors, more than half of the patients end up suffering serious cognitive sequelae from this therapy in the medium and long term. Therefore, in this line of work we focus on the development of neuroprotective strategies to prevent or alleviate the cognitive damage associated with brain irradiation and thus improve the quality of life of patients, especially pediatric patients, who have overcome the disease.
Objectives:
Characterization of the inflammatory mechanisms underlying cognitive deficit after brain radiotherapy and development of neuroprotective strategies based on immunotherapy.
Tumors of the nervous system
Tumors of the nervous system are the leading cause of death by disease in pediatric patients.
For certain tumors such as Diffuse Midline Glioma there is currently no effective treatment.
In other tumors with better prognosis such as Medulloblastoma or Low Grade Gliomas, it is the treatment that ends up generating both physical and mental sequelae that end up impacting the quality of life of patients and their families.
Meet the research team
Scientific activity of the Radio-immunotherapy strategies for pediatric tumors research group
Latest scientific publications
- Combination of locoregional radiotherapy with a TIM-3 aptamer improves survival in diffuse midline glioma models Aug 15, 2024 | Magazine: JCI Insight
- The oncolytic adenovirus Delta-24-RGD in combination with ONC201 induces a potent antitumor response in pediatric high-grade and diffuse midline glioma models Mar 31, 2024 | Magazine: Neuro-Oncology
- Radiotherapy protocols for mouse cancer model Jan 25, 2024 | Magazine: Methods in Cell Biology
- Characterization of immune populations in the tumor microenvironment of diffuse midline glioma orthotopic mouse models by flow cytometry Dec 29, 2023 | Magazine: STAR Protocolos