Else Kröner Research Program for Physicians at the LMU Hospital in Munich

Immunotherapy has established as an important treatment option for many cancers. Despite the documented successes, their efficacy remains limited to a minority of patients. A major cause is the cancer environment, which limits the effectiveness of immunotherapy. Local treatments such as surgical, radiological or radiotherapeutic intervention are increasingly being used to treat metastases. Observations suggest that this changes the composition of the tumor environment to the patient's advantage. The underlying mechanisms are so far insufficiently understood. However, the immune system seems to play a major role. Hence local interventions are predestined for combinations with immunotherapies. This is the focus of IOLIN: to combine local intervention with immunotherapies.