Dott. Salvo D. Lombardo

MD-Predoctoral Fellow, Menche Lab
Max Perutz Labs
University of Vienna

 

Cell-fate trajectory: mathematical analysis of immune actions on tumors

23/05/2023 – ore 14:30

Abstract: 

Immuno-oncology (IO) clinical trials have been at the forefront of cancer treatments in the past decade, obtaining promising results in specific cancer types, such as melanoma, or bladder cancer. However, predicting their efficacy during early drug development remains a challenge. Incorporating dynamical systems theory and network science into medicine has brought significant benefits and new mechanistic insights, enabling predictions applicable in clinical trials. Here, we review the latest studies that have combined these techniques with the latest high-throughput technologies, such as single-cell RNAseq and single-cell ATACseq, in different cancer types including neuroblastoma, glioblastoma, and colon-rectum cancers. We show that by treating each molecular reaction as a Michaelis-Menten equation, we are able to predict immune marker expression, such as PDL1, before and after other cancer treatments, forecasting resistance to immunotherapy, and predicting drug-induced cell states. We believe that mathematical modeling is critical in cancer research, guiding new discoveries, and helping with patient stratification and treatment optimization.

INFO : seminari.irib@irib.cnr.it