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Targeting the Pro-metastatic Niche in the Liver for Cancer Immunotherapy

Gregory L. Beatty, MD, PhD

Research

Evidence from patients with melanoma and lung cancer has suggested a role for the liver in determining outcomes with cancer immunotherapy. Yet, how the liver may regulate immunotherapy efficacy is unclear. Dr. Beatty’s group proposed that the connection between the gut and liver via the portal vein may have significant implications on T cell immunosurveillance in cancer. He hypothesized that hepatocytes respond to cancer development by orchestrating an immune microenvironment in the liver that supports cancer cell metastasis and inhibits the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy. To test this hypothesis, he is using novel pancreatic cancer models of liver metastasis.

Biography

Dr. Beatty received a PhD in Immunology, and his MD from the University of Pennsylvania. He completed a residency in Internal Medicine and a fellowship in Medical Oncology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He has joined the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania as Assistant Professor of Medicine.

Grantee News

Dr. Beatty and his group show how hepatocytes can contribute to the establishment of a pro-metastatic niche.