Liver Cancer – Prof. Ping Chih Ho (UNIL) et Prof. Darius Moradpour (CHUV)

Mobilizing the liver’s immune cells to better fight cancer

Enhancing immune-therapeutic approaches to liver cancer by using endogenous liver immune cells to enhance the response.

This project aims to develop new immunotherapy approaches for hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common form of liver cancer. The researchers are focusing on Kupffer cells, immune cells naturally present in the liver that can capture tumor-derived molecules and activating CD8 T cells against cancer cells.

The goal is to restore and strengthen this immune response, which is often weakened by chronic inflammation, viral infections, or tumor progression. The project also aims to identify specific markers on the surface of cancer cells and to develop antibodies capable of bringing these cells into close contact with Kupffer cells. This strategy could improve the quality and duration of the immune response, both in liver cancers associated with the hepatitis B virus and in those of non-viral origin. This daring approach is a new immunotherapeutic paradigm and as such may be game-changing.