CUHK Medicine shared a post on LinkedIn:
“Unveiling the “undercover agent” of immunotherapy resistance in liver cancer
Liver cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in Hong Kong, with up to 80% of patients eventually develop resistance even after receiving the most advanced immunotherapy. For years, the medical profession has been striving to uncover the mechanisms behind this resistance, but many questions remain unanswered.
In 2023, a research team led by Professor Alfred Cheng Sze-lok from the CUHK School of Biomedical Sciences at CUHK Medicine revealed that liver cancer cells can circumvent the therapy-armed immune system, resulting in resistance to ICB, the most commonly used therapy for liver cancer. Building on these foundational research findings, the team has now identified an immune cell, TREM2+ LAM. Although these cells assist in clearing dead cells, they also extract fatty acids to “feed” cancer cells and reprogram their gene expression, enhancing tumor resistance to immunotherapy.
This discovery has successfully pinpointed the “undercover agent” that enables liver cancer cells to resist ICB therapy. By targeting TREM2+ LAM in combination immunotherapy, the team demonstrated tumour reduction in mice. They are now collaborating with the pharmaceutical sector to prepare for clinical studies, aiming to confirm the efficacy and safety of this precision treatment, with results expected in two to three years.”
Title: Tumor cells metabolically resist immune-checkpoint therapy by macrophage efferocytosis-mediated fatty acid recycling
Authors: Zhixian Liang, Xiaohang Long, Zhewen Xiong, Patrick Pak-Chun Wong, Siyuan Huang, Siyun Chen, Yiling Zhang, Lingyun Zhang, Chunning Leung, Jianquan Cao, Haoran Wu, Hui Yue, Zihui Zhao, Yalin Tu, Baoyi Yin, Weiqin Yang, Jing Wang, Shufen Chen, Xuerao Zhang, Yuk Wah Tsang, Chengpeng Zhong, Xiaoyu Liu, Lipeng Ding, Jiahuan Lu, Willis Wai-Yiu Si-Tou, Yan Liu, Yaxian Wang, Yingnan Lin, Jianxin Liang, Weida Ren, Joaquim Si-Long Vong, Man Tong, Xiaoyu Tian, Hannah Xiaoyan Hui, Jingying Zhou, Saiming Ngai, Shelly Ni, Ka-Fai To, Thomas Braun, Joseph Jao-Yiu Sung, Stephen Lam Chan, Alfred Sze-Lok Cheng.
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