A research group from Cima and the University of Navarra Clinic published an article in 2023 in the journal Cancer Cell in which they confirmed that blocking an immune molecule reduces the tumor and prolongs survival in animal models of the most aggressive childhood cancers. This finding, signed by Iker Ausejo as first author, has won the 2024 Dr. Antoni Esteve Foundation Research Award. An international and independent jury considers it the best pharmacology article published by an author of Spanish nationality in the last three years. The award is endowed with €25,000, one of the highest in scientific matters in Spain, and will be presented soon at the headquarters of the Royal Academy of Pharmacy of Catalonia.
“This work has won the Dr. Antoni Esteve Foundation Research Award for its important contribution to the therapy of the most aggressive childhood cancer,” says Jaume Piulats, a member of the jury for this award. “Iker Ausejo and the team led by Marta Alonso have shown that TIM-3 can be a target for the treatment of diffuse intrinsic stem glioma (DIPG), an aggressive brainstem tumor and the leading cause of death related to pediatric cancer.” The decision was unanimous along with the other two members of the jury, Ralf Jockers, from the Cochin Institute in Paris, and Christian Beauséjour, from the University of Montreal.
Due to the location of the tumour, the therapeutic options for DIPG are limited, so it is essential to study effective treatments. “In recent years, immunotherapy has proven to be an alternative for many types of cancer. However, due to the unique tumor microenvironment of DIPG, classical inhibitors have not been effective in these pediatric patients,” explains Iker Ausejo-Mauleon, researcher at the Cima Cancer Division and first author of the study.
This research, integrated into the Cancer Center Clínica Universidad de Navarra, demonstrates that the inhibition of TIM-3 promotes a pro-inflammatory tumor microenvironment that favors a powerful antitumor immune response. “As a consequence, the long-term survival of experimental models increases. Therefore, TIM-3 is presented as a therapeutic target that can guide the development of clinical trials for these patients,” explains Marta Alonso, co-director of the Solid Tumors Program at Cima and director of the study.
Of the 26 articles received for this call and which were eligible for the Dr. Antoni Esteve Foundation Research Award, the jury also wanted to highlight with an honorable mention the work signed as first author by Maria Jesús González Rellán, from CiMUS, in which a key mechanism in the regulation of hepatic glucose production is discovered.