Host-Tumor Interactions in Aerodigestive Tract Carcinomas: Investigation and Therapeutic Modulation

The team, co-led by Karim Benihoud and Yegor Vassetzky, is made up of researchers and clinicians. Our research aims to understand the mechanisms of oncogenesis in cancers of the upper aerodigestive tract (UADT) and to address the medical needs associated with these cancers.

The research is organized around two main areas:

• The first area, led by Yegor Vassetzky and Filippo dall'Olio, aims to decipher the cellular and molecular interactions underlying the sarcopenia observed in these cancers. The objectives are to identify molecules produced by tumor cells and/or cells infiltrating tumors that are capable of remotely modulating skeletal muscle myogenesis.

• The second research area aims to evaluate different approaches to immunotherapy for VADS cancers. An initial approach developed by Karim Benihoud’s group involves in situ vaccination using oncolytic adenoviruses capable of replicating within tumor cells while stimulating the induction of antitumor immune responses. At the same time, the group is developing a second immunotherapy approach based on therapeutic vaccination of tumors using bacteriophage capsids that display tumor antigens on their surface. Finally, a third immunotherapy approach developed by Marianne Mangeney’s group is evaluating the antitumor potential of CAR-T cells derived from T lymphocytes treated with a pharmacological inhibitor of the FOXO1 transcription factor.