Mac4Me · Macrophage Targets for Metastatic Treatment

Immunotherapies promise to be the major break-through in the treatment of metastatic cancer, but effectiveness is limited to few cancer types. Metastatic neuroblastoma, breast and prostate cancer, affecting approximately 300,000 EU-27 inhabitants of all age groups in 2020, respond not or very poorly to current immunotherapies. To establish more effective immunotherapies, we need to better understand the specific tumour cell-immune host interactions at the metastatic site. The Mac4Me Doctoral Network adopts an innovative, multidisciplinary and cross-sectional approach, with a unique and dedicated research training programme to equip young researchers with scientific knowledge and transferable skills that are essential for today’s great demand in both academic and non-academic sectors. Mac4Me aims to understand the tumour cell-immune host interactions at the metastatic site. with an in-depth molecular and mechanistic understanding of the immune and matrix changes induced by tumour cells. We will use innovative animal-free organ-on-chip systems, that recapitulate early metastasis formation of brain, bone and liver. The retrieved knowledge from the preclinical models will be integrated in data from established clinical metastases and AI machine learning algorithms will be applied to identify new immune targets. Mac4Me will align with patients and the general public from the very beginning thereby bringing societal expectations and patient needs into the centre of the project to pave the way for new standards for shared decision making and acceptable health care solutions. Mac4Me will prepare a next generation of young scientists to start their own career as independent researchers being equipped with scientific knowledge and personal skills and integrating participatory science as a starting point to address the societal demand for more effective treatment solutions for incurable metastatic disease, such as neuroblastoma, breast and prostate cancer.