Chemo-Immunotherapy: Exploiting the Immunogenic Potential of Chemotherapy in Thoracic Cancer

Chemotherapy is used in many cancers. Although many patients display some clinical response, it is often not curative. Selected chemotherapeutics have been previously found to have immune-stimulating properties via various biological mechanisms. With immunotherapy recently showing promising results in some cancers, the next logical step would be to combine the two treatment modalities. However, it is not known how chemotherapy and immunotherapy can be most effectively combined in order to achieve synergy. In this thesis, I explored the potential for combining chemotherapy and immunotherapy, optimising preclinical models, testing the effects of co-medication and identifying the most optimal drug combinations.