Over the past decade, progress in immunotherapy has dramatically changed the treatment and prognosis of some types of cancer. Many patients with once untreatable, advanced malignancies now have the real possibility of cure through therapies that successfully turn the body's immune system against cancer cells. But while immunotherapy can be remarkably effective against certain types of cancers, its promise has not extended to all. Many cancers, including pancreatic and hepatobiliary cancers, remain highly resistant to immunotherapy.
Since 2006, the Cho Lab, led by Dr. Clifford S. Cho, has worked to understand and overcome the mechanisms by which cancer cells circumvent the immune system, and to develop new ways to broaden and strengthen the impact of cancer immunotherapy. We do this by conducting preclinical research to identify new and combinatorial strategies that can be translated to clinical practice. Our goal is to improve immunotherapy for patients with all types of cancers, including those that have, to date, proven resistant to immune-based therapies.