Chemo primes macrophages for birinapant-induced apoptosis in ovarian cancer

Join us for the next BioData Basel meetup!

Talk: Chemotherapy primes tumor-associated macrophages to enable caspase-8 dependent apoptosis triggered by birinapant in ovarian cancer cells

Speaker: Ricardo Coelho, PhD, Ovarian Cancer Research Group, Department of Biomedicine, University Hospital Basel.

Ovarian cancer often responds well to first-line chemotherapy, but it usually comes back in a chemoresistant form, and treatment options are then very limited. Ricardo will present work showing that the SMAC mimetic birinapant, given after standard chemotherapy (carboplatin or paclitaxel), kills substantially more ovarian cancer cells than chemotherapy alone, in cell lines and in tumor samples taken directly from patients.
He will explain why the combination works: chemotherapy triggers a TNF-alpha signal, produced largely by tumor-associated macrophages, that amplifies the effect of birinapant and pushes resistant cancer cells into programmed cell death. So the immune make-up of a tumor, not only its genetics, can decide how well a treatment works. He will also cover mesothelin as a marker that predicts sensitivity (low mesothelin, stronger response) and DRUGSENS, an ex vivo method that keeps a patient's tumor tissue alive together with its own immune cells, so drug combinations can be tested within a few days.

As always, the focus is on methods and technical knowledge: a chance to see how quantitative drug-response testing on patient material is used to link tumor immune composition to treatment outcome, and to exchange ideas across disciplines. No oncology background required, just curiosity!

Programme: 17:30 Opening: Hendrik Mallin, Olink (case studies and career opportunities, 10-15 min) 18:00 Main talk: Ricardo Coelho 18:30-19:30 Networking apero, sponsored by Olink (part of Thermo Fisher Scientific)

Details: Date: Thursday, 12 November 2026 Time: 17:30-19:30 Location: Basel, Department of Biomedicine (DBM), ZLF, 2nd floor, Hebelstrasse 20

Open to everyone: BioData Basel members and anyone interested in computational biology, bioinformatics, and cancer research. Networking afterwards is welcome and recommended!

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