The Department of Immune Medicine at the NCCRI, led by Dr. Chie Kudo-Saito, is looking beyond the tumor tissue itself to find markers of resistance in the blood.

While most researchers look for biomarkers inside the tumor, the NCCRI team identified ANGPTL3 circulating in the plasma.

• Systemic Risk: High levels of ANGPTL3—produced primarily by the liver as a stress response to the tumor—correlate with failure of nivolumab therapy in gastric cancer patients.
• Synergistic Targeting: The team found that using an anti-ANGPTL3 mAb could not only slow tumor growth but also "unlock" the efficacy of anti-PD1 treatments.

Because ANGPTL3 inhibitors (like evinacumab) are already FDA-approved for lipid disorders, this study provides a clear path for drug repositioning in oncology

This research highlights the importance of precise in vivo modeling to confirm clinical proteomic findings.