2024 Innovation Grant. Understanding Resistance to Immunotherapy in Cholangiocarcinoma
The Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation is leading a collaborative, multi-center research grant process to explore and evaluate why some patients’ cholangiocarcinoma cancer develops immunotherapy resistance and then develop new approaches for individualized treatment.
In recent years, immunotherapy has emerged as a breakthrough therapy for many cancers. Research has shown that the addition of immunotherapy to standard chemotherapy improves survival for patients with cholangiocarcinoma (CCA). Although studies showed that approximately one in four patients had a long-term benefit, many patients did not respond to treatment. The more that is learned about immunotherapy resistance, the more that can be done to improve the quality of medical care for cancer diagnosis and treatment, particularly for patients with CCA. With support from the Bachrach Family Foundation, the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation is leading a collaborative, multi-center research grant process to explore and evaluate why some patients’ cancers develop resistance. Knowledge arising from this work will influence clinical trial design leading to improved use of immunotherapy, thereby improving patients’ quality of life and leading to accurate individualized treatment.
First-Ever Innovation Grant Advances Cholangiocarcinoma Immunotherapy Resistance Research
A partnership between the Bachrach Family Foundation and the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation awarded a team of researchers with a one-year $250,000 philanthropic gift. The winning applicants, Dr. Katie Kelley (UCSF) and Dr. Tim Greten (NIH), were selected for their project “Understanding Molecular and Immunological Mechanisms of Acquired Resistance in Cholangiocarcinoma.” They were selected from among national and international applicants including researchers, institutions, and industry.
