PHD Optimising Cancer Therapy

University of Liverpool

This project aspires to make immunotherapy safer and more effective by discovering how SGLT2 inhibitors can simultaneously guard the heart and strengthen antitumour immunity. In revealing these mechanisms, we aim to spark a new era of treatment that delivers deeper impact with fewer risks. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have significantly improved the survival of patients with solid cancers by enhancing the immune system’s ability to target and destroy tumour cells. However, ICIs are associated with immune-related adverse events, including cardiotoxicity, which affects 1-3% of patients and is fatal in up to 50% of cases.Sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i), originally developed to treat diabetes, have been shown clinically to be cardioprotective whilst enhancing antitumour activity. However, the mechanisms that remain largely unknown limit the adoption of these drugs in routine clinical practice.Our previous work has led to the hypothesis that the addition of Empagliflozin (SGLT2i), differentially modulates the expression of PD-L1 protein at the membrane of cardiac and cancer cells, engaging the immune cells in both cardioprotection and increased immunosurveillance-mediated cell death.

University of Liverpool