Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a prevalent malignant tumor of the digestive tract with a low 5-year survival rate due to the lack of effective treatment methods. Although therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) now play an important role in cancer therapy, effective targeted mAbs are still lacking for ESCC.  ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2023
• December 2023

Tissue-resident memory T (TRM) cells have emerged as key players in the immune control of melanoma. These specialized cells are identified by expression of tissue retention markers such as CD69, CD103 and CD49a with downregulation of egress molecules such as Sphingosine-1-Phosphate Receptor-1 (S1PR1) and the lymphoid homing receptor, CD62L. ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2022
• November 2022

Chemotherapy is included in treatment regimens for many solid cancers, but when administered as a single agent it is rarely curative. The addition of immune checkpoint therapy to standard chemotherapy regimens has improved response rates and increased survival in some cancers. However, most patients do not respond to treatment and immune checkpoint therapy can cause severe side effects. Therefore, there is a need for alternative immunomodulatory drugs that enhance chemotherapy. ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2024
• February 2024

This study aimed to investigate the influence factors of financial toxicity experienced by colorectal cancer patients after surgery. The results will provide deep insights for developing effective intervention strategies to address this common issue of colorectal cancer care. ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2024
• February 2024

High medication literacy is the basis of rational medication application and is essential for the management of severe adverse drug reactions. The objective of the present study was to assess the level of medication literacy and determine the association between medication literacy and skin adverse drug reactions in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients undergoing targeted epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI) therapy. ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2022
• May 2022

Timo W. Joost Lassmann Lesterhuis T WJL BSc (Hons) MSc PhD Feilman Fellow; Program Head, Precision Health and Team Lead, Computational Biology ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Projects

Dysphagia, one of the most common complications in head and neck cancer (HNC) treated with radiotherapy, can severely affect patients’ quality of life. Currently, because no “gold standard” treatment exists, swallowing exercise remains the main rehabilitation strategy for dysphagia. However, patients’ compliance with long-term swallowing exercise is only 40%, thus, greatly compromising outcomes. This article aims to analyze thefactors influencing swallowing exercise compliance in patients with HNC and explains strategies developed to date for improved rehabilitation outcomes. ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2023
• January 2023

Glioblastoma is the most common form of high-grade glioma in adults and has a poor survival rate with very limited treatment options. There have been no significant advancements in glioblastoma treatment in over 30 years. Epidermal growth factor receptor is upregulated in most glioblastoma tumours and, therefore, has been a drug target in recent targeted therapy clinical trials. ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2022
• November 2022

With immune checkpoint therapy (ICT) having reshaped the treatment of many cancers, the next frontier is to identify and develop novel combination therapies to improve efficacy. Previously, we and others identified beneficial immunological effects of the vitamin A derivative tretinoin on anti-tumour immunity. ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2022
• March 2022

Antibodies that target immune checkpoints such as cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA‐4) and the programmed cell death protein 1/ligand 1 (PD-1/PD-L1) are now a treatment option for multiple cancer types. However, as a monotherapy, objective responses only occur in a minority of patients. Chemotherapy is widely used in combination with immune checkpoint blockade (ICB). Although a variety of isolated immunostimulatory effects have been reported for several classes of chemotherapeutics, it is unclear which chemotherapeutics provide the most benefit when combined with ICB. ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2022
• May 2022