IGP researchers receive million SEK grant from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation

High-grade gliomas are aggressive brain tumours that affect adults and children and that unfortunately cannot be cured with available treatments. In recent years, immunotherapy has gained ground as a treatment for several cancer types but it is still not effective for brain tumours. One reason for this is that the immune system is poor at recognising the malignant glioma cells, and that the tumour microenvironment supresses the immune response.

In the financed project the researchers intend to overcome this by inducing lymph node-like structures in connection with the brain tumour. This way the immune cells will be stimulated to recognise the tumour and the tumour microenvironment is optimised for a functional immune response, which is expected to lead to an effective immunotherapy for brain tumours.

“We are of course extremely happy that the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation has chosen to support our research. In this project we take a radically new approach to be able to cure brain tumours patients in the future and this grant increases our chances to succeed,” says Anna Dimberg, main applicant in the granted application.

The project is possible through a strong synergy between Anna Dimberg’s and Magnus Essand’s research groups, with important support from co-applicants Bengt Westermark and Elisabetta Dejana.

More information:
The Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation
Anna Dimberg’s research (Link removed)
Magnus Essand’s research (Link removed)
Bengt Westermark’s research (Link removed)
Elisabetta Dejana’s research (Link removed)