Breast Cancer Tumor-immune Ecosystem
Source: https://www.hbku.edu.qa/en/qbri/research-teams-research-group_dr-julie-decock Parent: https://www.hbku.edu.qa/en/qbri/translational-oncology-research-center
This research team focuses on key areas that can help accelerate cancer research and advance the development of new anti-cancer treatments, particularly in breast cancer. Breast cancer affects one out of four women with cancer globally and one out of two female cancer patients in Qatar. The team has a specific interest in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), constituting 15-20% of all breast cancer cases, which is characterized by an aggressive phenotype with higher risk of metastasis and relatively worse clinical outcome. Systemic treatment options for TNBC patients are currently limited to standard chemotherapy, which most often does not result in long-term responses. While immunotherapy has shown promising results in different cancers, some tumor types such as breast cancer do not respond to immune-based intervention and efforts are undertaken to unravel the mechanistic basis of resistance. The research focus is directed towards the identification of specific targets to hit and kill tumor cells and to overcome immunosuppression, in order to ultimately improve clinical outcomes of breast cancer patients.
In the area of tumor antigen discovery, the team seek to identify novel anti-cancer targets – with a focus on cancer testis antigens – that could be used in immunotherapy and/or could enhance clinical benefit with minimal off-target effects when targeted in combination with other treatment regimens.
Through research into the tumor-immune microenvironment, the team aims to uncover some of the cancer-cell intrinsic mechanisms that help shape an immune-unfavorable environment and may contribute to treatment resistance.
Research Team
Dr. Julie Decock
Senior Scientist
Qatar Biomedical Research Institute
Dr. Sana A. Bentebbal
Postdoc Researcher
Qatar Biomedical Research Institute
Dr. Bakhita Meqbel
Research Fellow
Qatar Biomedical Research Institute
Umar Jafar
PhD Student
Aya Hassan Nasser
PhD Student
Current Projects
Prognostic and Predictive Immune-related Gene and lncRNA Signatures in Breast Cancer.
Circulating Inflammatory Biomarkers in Breast Cancer.
Cancer Testis Antigens as Novel Biomarkers in Breast Cancer.
Therapeutic Opportunities Targeting Cancer Testis Antigens.
Immunomodulatory Behavior of Cancer Testis Antigens within the Tumor-immune Ecosystem.
Identification of Cancer Testis Antigen-derived MHC Class I and II Epitopes that can Elicit Cellular Anti-tumor Immune Responses.
Genetic Determinants of Non-BRCA1/2 High Risk Familial Breast Cancer.
Immunological and Immunogenetic Markers in Patients with Dysregulated Immune Responses Including Those Seen in Diabetes Mellitus and Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Anti-viral Immune Responses Against Sars-CoV-2 and its Relation with COVID-19 Disease Severity and Complications.