XXVII FERO Grant – Dr. Silvia Affò

There is a great need to develop new effective therapies for cholangiocarcinoma patients, a highly aggressive type of liver cancer that is resistant to therapy and has extremely poor survival rates. These tumors have a high component of tumor stem cell markers, which could be promoting aggressiveness through interaction with the cells surrounding the tumor, known as the tumor microenvironment.

The laboratory led by Dr. Silvia Affò has developed an experimental system to study how current therapies affect tumor stem cells and their ecosystem, thereby deciphering the factors that could cause therapeutic inefficiencies.

The XXVII FERO Grant project aims to develop new therapies targeting both tumor cells and the tumor microenvironment, with the goal of improving survival for patients with this highly aggressive tumor.