Unraveling Tumor-Immune Crosstalk in Breast Cancer; Towards Personalised Immune Intervention Strategies

Host

Klaas van Gisbergen, PhD, Tissue Immunity Lab

Venue

Seminar room

Abstract

The overall goal of our research is to mechanistically understand the reciprocal interaction between breast cancer and the immune system and how this affects disease progression. To achieve this, we utilise preclinical mouse models that faithfully recapitulate human breast tumourigenesis, in combination with immune profiling studies in breast cancer patients. The composition and functional state of the tumor immune microenvironment can vary considerably between patients, even within the same cancer type. Understanding the mechanisms that impact inter-patient heterogeneity in the local and systemic immune landscape may help to tailor immunomodulatory therapeutics to individual patients. In my lab, we have a special interest in studying how the genetic make-up of breast cancer influences the local and systemic immune landscape, impacting metastatic spread and immunotherapy response. Using a set of unique transgenic mouse tumor models for breast cancer, we observed major differences in TME composition and systemic immune changes between tumours with distinct genetic drivers. As a consequence, mammary tumours driven by different genetic alterations require distinct immunomodulatory strategies to unleash anti-tumor immunity. With this research, we aim to provide a solid basis for tailoring immunomodulatory approaches to the genetic make-up of the tumor.

Bio

Karin de Visser is group leader in the Division of Tumor Biology & Immunology at the Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI) in Amsterdam and Oncode Institute, and a full professor of Experimental Immunobiology of Cancer at Leiden University Medical Center. She obtained her PhD in 2002 at the NKI in the field of cancer immunotherapy - well before immunotherapy transformed cancer patient care. During her postdoctoral research with Prof. Lisa Coussens at UCSF (2003-2005), she expanded her expertise into the field of inflammation and cancer. In 2005, she returned to the NKI and joined the lab of Prof. Jos Jonkers to gain experience with conditional mouse models of breast cancer before establishing her own research group.

Her lab investigates how the immune system influences breast cancer metastasis and therapy response. Her most recognised work has revealed how tumour-induced systemic inflammation drives neutrophil-dependent immunosuppression and promotes metastasis. By integrating tumor immunology and cancer genetics, her team demonstrated that the genetic make-up of breast cancer shapes the immune landscape. In collaboration with Dr. Marleen Kok, her team also uncovered a critical role for eosinophils in immunotherapy response of breast cancer.

Karin de Visser received an ERC consolidator grant (2014), the Metastasis Research Prize of the Beug Foundation (2015), an NWO-VICI grant (2019), the Pezcoller-Marina Larcher Fogazzaro-EACR Women in Cancer Research Award (2025), the Josephine Nefkens Award (2025), and was elected EMBO young investigator (2016) and EMBO member (2021). She co-leads the Immunotherapy research theme at the NKI.

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Champalimaud Research (CR) Colloquia Series is a seminar programme organised by the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown to promote the discussion about the most interesting and significant questions in neuroscience and physiology & cancer with appointed speakers by the CR Community.