SARAH - Search for combination therapies for the targeted treatment of clonal hematopoiesis in solid tumors

The SARAH project is investigating why certain people have a higher risk of aggressive tumors such as lung or pancreatic cancer—and how this can be treated in a targeted manner. The focus is on a phenomenon called clonal hematopoiesis (CHIP). This involves certain blood stem cells changing over the course of a person's life, which can lead to an “inflamed” immune system. These silent but profound changes in the blood can promote the growth and spread of cancer cells – even if the blood cells themselves are not malignant. SARAH is investigating how these CHIP cells influence the tumor. To do this, it combines modern laboratory models, analyses of patient samples, and artificial intelligence. Of particular interest are two molecular “switches” (JAK2 and LSD1) that are particularly active in CHIP patients. The hypothesis is that if these switches are specifically blocked with drugs, both inflammation in the blood and tumor growth can be slowed down. The project brings together researchers from Lübeck, Graz, Aachen, Tübingen, Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, Freiburg, and Montréal. The aim is to lay the foundations for new therapies that can be used in future clinical trials for particularly difficult-to-treat types of cancer. The focus is not only on the tumor cell itself, but also on its environment, in particular