New approaches to therapy resistance
"Over the past four years, we have been able to show for several types of cancer that there is a link between cancer-inducing mutations and cancer cells evading the immune response. These discoveries have led to new therapeutic approaches that are currently undergoing clinical trials. The extension of the Collaborative Research Centre is a great recognition," says CRC spokesperson Prof. Dr. Robert Zeiser. He heads the Department of Tumour Immunology and Immune Regulation at the Department of Internal Medicine I at the University Medical Centre Freiburg and is a member of the Cluster of Excellence CIBSS – Centre for Integrative Biological Signalling Studies at the University of Freiburg. In 2025, he received the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize.
‘Inhibiting oncogenic signal transduction to enhance immunotherapy against cancer is a new approach that could help overcome resistance to therapy,’ says the co-spokesperson for the SFB, Prof. Dr. Tilman Brummer from the Institute for Molecular Medicine and Cell Research at the University of Freiburg. ‘Implementation in clinical trials is ensured by the excellent infrastructure in the Early Clinical Trial Unit (ECTU) of the Department of Internal Medicine I at the University Medical Centre Freiburg,’ adds Prof. Dr. Justus Duyster, Medical Director of the Department of Internal Medicine I at the University Medical Centre Freiburg.
Invisible to the immune system
In normal tissue, the frequency with which cells divide is precisely controlled by stimulating oncogenes and inhibiting tumour suppressor genes. However, if oncogenes become genetically overactive or tumour suppressor genes are lost, a normal cell transforms into a cancer cell. Both processes alter intracellular signal transduction, which is described by the umbrella term ‘oncogenic signalling’. This leads to tumour growth and, later, to increased genetic instability. As a result, the tumour cell can develop mechanisms to become invisible to the immune system or to silence the immune cells. These mechanisms are summarised under the term ‘immune escape’.
‘The renewed funding of the Collaborative Research Centre confirms the strength of medical research in Freiburg,’ says Prof. Dr. Lutz Hein, Dean of the Medical Faculty at the University of Freiburg. ‘The extension of the CRC allows researchers to experimentally test new therapeutic approaches against cancers that are resistant to immunotherapy.’
Original press release of University of Freiburg
CIBSS-profile of Prof Dr Robert Zeiser
