Institute of Oncology Ljubljana leads EU Twinning project ZAP Cancer on anti-tumor immune response
The Institute of Oncology Ljubljana (IOLJ) announces its leadership of the European Twinning project "ZAP Cancer". This ambitious three-year project, carried out in collaboration with leading European research institutions, aims to advance research in the field of anti-tumor immune response activation through cutting-edge electrochemotherapy and gene electrotransfer techniques.
More than a decade has passed since the first immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) was approved for the treatment of advanced melanoma, marking the beginning of immunotherapies in cancer treatment. However, even in the best scenarios with a combination of ICIs and standard therapies, lasting benefit is not achieved in about half of patients. New approaches are therefore needed to maximize the potential of ICIs. The scientific aim of the ZAP Cancer project is to determine how a local ablative technique, electrochemotherapy with the chemotherapeutic drugs bleomycin (BLM), cisplatin (CDDP) or oxaliplatin (OXA), which induce immunogenic cell death (ICD), can be combined with gene electrotransfer of plasmid DNA (pDNA) encoding ICIs to elicit a systemic anti-tumor immune response.
The ZAP Cancer project plans to improve access to scientific excellence, optimize research management and accelerate the exchange of personnel, knowledge and ideas in the European Research Area (ERA) and the two participating institutions from the widening countries: the Institute of Oncology Ljubljana (IOLJ) and the Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) of University of Ljubljana. ZAP Cancer will expand the existing collaboration network with three leading European institutions: the Institute of Pharmacology and Structural Biology, a department of the CNRS (IPBS-CNRS), Toulouse, France, the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KUL), Leuven, Belgium, the Institute of Translational Pharmacology, an institute of the Italian National Research Council (CNR) and a new partner: the Medical University of Graz (MUG), Graz, Austria.
Through the proposed project, a multidisciplinary network of cancer research centers will collaborate to establish a state-of-the-art high-throughput multi-omics research platform for in vitro and in vivo research platform at the IOLJ and FHS, providing them with valuable new expertise and knowledge that will increase their potential for future successful applications at European and international level.
"We are thrilled to embark on the 'ZAP Cancer' project, which positions the Institute of Oncology Ljubljana at the forefront of multilevel cancer research and innovation in cancer treatment. This initiative confirms our excellence in research and strengthens our strategic networking and collaborative efforts with top European research institutions. Our goal is to translate these cutting-edge research findings into clinical practice to ultimately improve outcomes for cancer patients worldwide," said Dr. Bostjan Markelc, project leader at the Institute of Oncology Ljubljana.
Project information
Project title: ZAP Cancer – Twinning for excellence to advance research in the activation of anti-tumor immune response after electrochemotherapy combined with gene electrotransfer of pDNA encoding ICIs
Project duration: 36 months.
Partners: Institute of Oncology Ljubljana (coordinator), partners the Faculty of Health Sciences of University of Ljubljana, Institute of Pharmacology and Structural Biology, a department of the CNRS (IPBS-CNRS), Toulouse, France; Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KUL), Leuven, Belgium; The Institute of Translational Pharmacology, Institute of the Italian National Research Council (CNR) and the Medical University of Graz (MUG), Graz, Austria.
Budget: 1.499.101 €
Contact:
Institute of Oncology Ljubljana
dr. Bostjan Markelc, project leader
E-mail: bmarkelc(at)onko-i.si
