ioAVATAR: Immune oncology Drug Discovery & Decision – Advanced ex Vivo Approach To Accelerate Response prediction for combined therapies in ovarian cancer”, is one of the 15 projects funded by the TRANSCAN-3 2024 Joint Translational Call.
Immune checkpoint inhibitors have revolutionized cancer treatment. However, ovarian cancer remains a tumor entity in which the success of T cell–based immune checkpoint inhibition therapies has so far been limited. In contrast, the innate immune system—particularly tumor-associated macrophages and dendritic cells—represents a novel and promising therapeutic target that should be further explored in the context of ovarian cancer.
Currently, suitable models that realistically replicate the complex network of cellular interactions in the tumor microenvironment of patients with ovarian cancer and that are suitable for analyzing immunotherapeutic approaches are lacking.
The ioAVATAR research project aims to develop complex ex vivo models—so-called patient AVATARs—that faithfully reproduce the tumor microenvironment of patients with ovarian cancer. These models are intended to enable the investigation and testing of innovative combinatorial immuno-oncological therapy approaches that specifically modulate tumor-associated macrophages and dendritic cells, thereby inducing effective and durable anti-tumor immunity in ovarian cancer. In the long term, the most promising combinations are intended to be translated into clinical application, and patient AVATARS will be further developed for personalized prediction of therapy response. By leveraging already clinically validated antibodies and the interdisciplinary expertise of the ioAVATAR consortium in oncology, immunology, and bioinformatics, the project has an excellent foundation for rapid implementation and clinical translation.
The ioAVATAR consortium brings together five institutions from four European countries, including three COST Action IMMUNO-model members. The project is coordinated by Leticia Oliveira-Ferrer (University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany), vice-chair of COST Action IMMUNO-model, and includes Franziska Brauneck (UKE, Germany), Christoph Caux (Centre Léon Bérard, France), Devrim Pesen Okvur (Izmir Institute of Technology, Turkey), and Rebeca Sanz-Pamplona (Health Research Institute Aragón, Spain).