Secretariat, Alumni Association, IDAC
Date Friday, 9 August 2019, 16:00 onwards
Room 7th Floor, Seminar Room 1, IDAC Center for Basic Aging Research
Title Reengineering the tumor microenvironment to improve cancer treatment
Speaker Shuji Kitahara
Affiliation Department of Anatomy, Tokyo Women’s Medical University
Graduate School of Economics, Faculty of Political Science and Economics, Waseda University
Organizer Yasuhiro Suzuki (Dept. Vascular biology ・ ext 8532)
Abstract The tumor microenvironment (TME) consists of abnormal blood and lymphatic vessels, various stromal cells, and resident and infiltrating immune cells, all of which are ensconced in an extracellular matrix. The TME, characterized by hypoxia, a low pH, and high interstitial fluid pressure, can reduce the effectiveness of virtually all types of anticancer therapies. Accordingly, normalizing the TME has the potential to improve the effectiveness of targeted therapy and immunotherapy. However, existing treatment regimens do not address this complication and consequently, do not result in objective tumor shrinkage. Thus, we propose a new treatment strategy based on targeted therapy for several types of cancer. For instance, optimized anti-angiogenic therapy may relieve hypoxia and improve drug delivery, which would improve the anti-tumor immune response. In addition, we focused on the combination of immune therapy with optimized anti-angiogenic treatment. This seminar will emphasize the potential for a new paradigm of targeted therapy and immunotherapy aimed at modulating the tumor microenvironment to change clinical practice.