XXII FERO Grant – Dr. María Casanova

Immunotherapy has revolutionized lung cancer treatment, but a significant portion of patients either do not respond to it or eventually develop resistance. This project investigates how communication between two types of cells present in the tumor microenvironment—macrophages and fibroblasts—promotes cancer growth and limits the effectiveness of immunotherapy.

The goal is to understand these mechanisms to identify new biomarkers that can predict which patients will benefit from treatment and to develop strategies capable of enhancing the immune response against the tumor. Ultimately, this research seeks to open the door to new therapies that increase the efficacy of immunotherapy in lung cancer patients.