PRODECANTHER: Harnessing new programmed cell death processes for safer cancer therapy

Extended project summary:

All living organisms rely on the elimination of cells as part of their natural cycle. This process is known as “programmed cell death” (PCD), which is activated to maintain the overall health of the organism. During human development, more cells are produced than necessary, and through PCD, defective or old cells are eliminated, ensuring that only the healthiest cells form our organs and defective cells are quickly replaced without any consequences. Our body produces hundreds of thousands of new cells daily to replace those eliminated through PCD, maintaining a delicate balance between cell division and death, called homeostasis, which is vital for maintaining a healthy life and performance.

Cancer disrupts this balance to allow defective cells to survive and multiply excessively, forming tumours that can damage organs and eventually cause death. Despite considerable progress in cancer research and our understanding of how cancer cells avoid cell death, we still have limited knowledge of how cancer-initiating cells (preneoplastic cells) resist death signals from their environment and the immune system, which normally protect us from abnormal cells.

PRODECANTHER  project aims to discover new and more effective ways to activate cell death mechanisms in tumour cells to reduce or stop cancer. Innovative genetic and molecular tools will be used to determine how and when PCD is activated or evaded in preneoplastic cells. Additionally, these abnormal processes in cancer will be compared with natural cell death processes to discover new opportunities to stimulate our natural defences and design more effective and long-lasting anticancer therapies.

Figure. Harnessing programmed cell death for lasting cancer therapies. (A) Cancer cells acquire  several capabilities that allow them to survive and spread, including the ability to multiply rapidly, resist cell death, and invade other tissues. [1]  While scientists have made significant progress in understanding these hallmarks of cancer, there is still much to learn about how cancer cells acquire these traits. (B) Fortunately, incipient cancer cells can be detected and eliminated by the immune system, but some manage to escape this control through mechanisms that are not yet fully understood. By exploring these mechanisms and developing new therapies that stimulate the body’s natural defences, we hope to find more effective and long-lasting treatments for cancer, improving the quality of life for patients and reducing healthcare costs.

[1] Hanahan D, Weinberg RA . Hallmarks of Cancer: The Next Generation. Cell. 2011.