ERC Advanced Grant · 2023
Overcoming Mechanically-Induced Resistance to Chemo-Immunotherapy in Pancreatic Cancer
Cancer progression is closely associated with generation of mechanical stresses that cause the compression of tumor vessels, drastically reducing delivery of drugs. My co-workers and I found that host cells and extracellular matrix in tumors generate these stresses. Furthermore, we identified the anti-hypertensive losartan to alleviate intratumoral stresses and decompress vessels, allowing drugs to enter the tumor. My colleagues tested losartan in pancreatic cancer patients and found improved responses to chemo-radiation. Nonetheless, losartan cannot alleviate all stresses, and my preliminary data indicate that they induce chemotherapy resistance (“mechanoresistance”). Thus, even though…
From the public funding record at EU CORDIS. Describes the funded project, not the reviews below.