Major grant for research into autoimmunity and cancer
Nils Landegren, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, has received a grant of SEK 38 million to investigate whether there is a link between autoimmunity and cancer. Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt, Uppsala University
Does autoimmunity play a role in the development of cancer? And why is it that some people with an increased risk of developing cancer never do? Nils Landegren at the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, is part of an international team of researchers that has been awarded the equivalent of SEK 225 million through the Cancer Grand Challenges research initiative to study this.
Of the total grant, Nils Landegren’s research group will receive SEK 38 million. His research focuses on autoimmunity, which is when the immune system attacks the body’s own tissues. Recent research has shown that this process is significant in many more diseases than previously known, such as people who became seriously ill with COVID-19 when autoantibodies blocked important functions of the immune system. Nils Landegren now wants to investigate whether this mechanism also plays a role in cancer.
“Autoantibodies are not new in themselves. The important role they play in the classic group of autoimmune diseases is well documented. However, we do not yet know what significance they have for cancer. Until now, it has not been possible to study this area effectively, but with new tools we have already seen major advances in other areas. So we thought: could this also be an important mechanism in cancer? That is what we are focusing on here in Uppsala,” says Nils Landegren.
Protected against cancer
The researchers involved in the Cancer Antibody Atlas project are not only interested in the development of cancer, but also in what makes certain people appear to be protected against the disease.
To collect the large amounts of information needed, Nils Landegren’s research group will use two large patient and population registries in Uppsala. These contain vast amounts of data on different population groups: ULSAM, which covers men born between 1920 and 1924 and living in Uppsala County, and U-CAN, which covers over 30,000 cancer patients.
“The first step is to find new antibodies linked to cancer or the absence of cancer. In later stages, we really want to go into depth and understand the mechanisms and prove what may play a direct pathogenic or protective role,” says Nils Landegren.
Hope to find protective antibodies
One hope the researchers have is that the project will lead to the early detection of cancer. A simple blood test could reveal whether a patient carries antibodies that could be related to cancer.
“But an even more ambitious hope is to detect antibodies that either drive or protect against disease. If we can find reasons why some people have become susceptible to cancer, we could treat harmful antibodies. If we also find protective antibodies, this could be even more significant, as it would provide us with general insights into the treatment of cancer,” says Nils Landegren.
In the project, he is collaborating with colleagues from the University of Texas Southwestern, John Hopkins and CDI Laboratories in the United States, EDFL in Switzerland, CDI Laboratories and the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, and Aarhus University in Denmark.
Åsa Malmberg
Cancer Grand Challenges
Cancer Grand Challenges is a global research initiative that identifies the toughest challenges in cancer research. It is funded by Cancer Research UK and the National Cancer Institute in the United States. The aim is to give global, interdisciplinary research teams the opportunity to contribute to finding solutions.