Following the creation of a new Immuno-Oncology autonomous subject area in which, by order of Director Fausto J. Pinto, Professor Bruno Silva-Santos is appointed as its top coordinator, we ask him to explain to us the importance of the establishment of this new area.
“The creation of a new immuno-oncology autonomous subject area is a great development - and quite innovative - within FMUL; and certainly it will contribute to the training of the best medical professionals at our Lisbon Academic Medical Centre (CAML).
Immuno-Oncology is dedicated to the study of immune responses to tumours and their application in the treatment of cancer. Despite being an area with more than 100 years of history, it has undergone a revolution in the last decade, attested by multiple FDA (U.S. Food & Drugs Administration) and EMA (European Medicines Agency) approvals; and by the recent Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (2018) awarded to pioneers of immune checkpoints (CTLA-4 and PD-1), James Allison and Tasuku Honjo.
The future of cancer treatment will inevitably include immunotherapy as a complementary clinical approach to traditional surgery(ies), radiotherapy and chemotherapy, especially for metastatic cancers. The synergies between these various types of treatment will be central to containing cancer as a major cause of mortality in developed countries, particularly given the ageing trend of their populations.
In the universe of Portuguese medical schools, FMUL is in a privileged position to provide its students, from the 1st to the 3rd cycle of studies, with specific and excellent training in Immuno-Oncology, given the excellence of basic, translational and clinical research in this area at CAML. Therefore, the creation of a new autonomous Immuno-Oncology subject area will allow us to develop an innovative specialized training programme in this field - including, for example, a new optional course in the 1st cycle and a new advanced course in the 3rd cycle - in our medical school.
These are the specific objectives of the subject area:
- to identify the immunological component of the tumour microenvironment;
- to understand the cellular and molecular bases of immune responses to tumours;
- to distinguish the main immunotherapeutic options under development or already in clinical practice;
- to discuss (in theory, practice and laboratory rotations) the main experimental strategies used in immuno-oncology research;
- to identify the biggest challenges and future perspectives in the area of cancer immunotherapy;
- to contribute to the better preparation of MIM students for a possible specialization in Oncology or Haematology;
- to conduct experimental work leading to Master and Ph.D. theses in the field of Immuno-Oncology”.
Associate Professor with Aggregation (FMUL)
Deputy Director & Group Leader (iMM JLA)