XVI FERO Grant – Dr. Asís Palazón

Although immunotherapy represents the most promising cancer treatment since the development of the first chemotherapies, currently available techniques are only effective in a specific group of patients. Furthermore, several combinatorial approaches have recently failed in clinical trials, making it essential to identify new targets that help improve the current efficacy of immunotherapy treatments.

The award-winning study focuses on discovering new aberrant epigenetic modifications that prevent the proper formation of long-lived memory cytotoxic T cells—immune cells within the tumor microenvironment (TME) capable of destroying cancer cells—thereby precipitating their exhaustion. Based on the discovery of these alterations in the normal functioning of cytotoxic T cells, which could be related to a deficient supply of the oxygen they need to carry out their mission, the researchers also aim to discover mechanisms capable of rejuvenating exhausted T cells in the TME. This opens the way for new therapeutic targets that contribute to improving the efficacy of immunotherapy.