Using radiation and your own immune cells to boost immunotherapy for intrahepatic bile-duct (liver) cancer
Official title: Radiation and dendritic cell combination to improve immunotherapy response in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma
Funded at Mayo Clinic Rochester · NIH-11142663 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This approach combines focused liver radiation, injections of your own dendritic immune cells, and two immune drugs to try to help people with unresectable intrahepatic bile-duct cancer live longer without the disease getting worse.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Mayo Clinic Rochester NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Rochester, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2024 |
| Project end | August 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $610,890 |
| NIH project number | 5R01CA294704-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11142663 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are people with unresectable intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma who can undergo high‑dose liver radiation, intratumoral injections, and checkpoint immunotherapy.
✕Less likely to help
Patients with cancers that can be removed by surgery, those with other tumor types, or people unable to tolerate radiation, invasive tumor injections, or immune checkpoint drugs are unlikely to benefit from this approach.
What this research studies
If you have intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma that cannot be removed by surgery, doctors would give high‑dose targeted radiation to the liver tumor to cause tumor cells to release antigens. Right after radiation, your own dendritic immune cells would be injected into the tumor to help the immune system capture and present those tumor antigens. You would also receive two immune drugs (atezolizumab and tiragolumab) that block PD‑L1 and TIGIT to strengthen the anti‑tumor T cell response. Early pilot work showed partial responses in some patients, including one lasting response at 48 months, but this combined approach remains experimental and is being tested further.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this strategy could extend the time patients with unresectable intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma live without their cancer progressing and produce longer-lasting tumor responses.
How similar studies have gone: A small pilot of the radiation plus dendritic‑cell approach produced promising partial responses including a durable 48‑month response, but adding dual PD‑L1/TIGIT blockade is a newer, experimental combination.
Where this research is happening
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Mayo Clinic Rochester
Rochester, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Park, Sean S — Mayo Clinic Rochester
- Study coordinator: Park, Sean S
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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A new mouse model to study intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and its immunotherapy
A new mouse model helps researchers understand intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and test immune-based treatments to improve outcomes.
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Radiation plus a patient’s own immune cells to boost cholangiocarcinoma treatment
This project tests a therapy that combines precise radiation and the patient’s own dendritic cells with immune drugs to help fight intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma in people who cannot have surgery.
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New mouse model to improve immune therapy for intrahepatic bile duct (cholangiocarcinoma) cancer
This project builds a new mouse model to help make immune-based treatments work better for people with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, a type of bile duct liver cancer.
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Combining radiation and immune cells to enhance treatment for liver cancer
This study is testing a new way to help people with a tough type of liver cancer by using strong radiation along with special immune cells from their own body to boost their immune system and help them live longer without the cancer getting worse.
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A new mouse model to study liver cancer and improve its treatment
This study is looking at a tough type of liver cancer called intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and is testing a new mouse model to learn more about how the immune system interacts with this cancer, hoping to find better treatment options that work alongside current therapies.
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Understanding how tumor variety affects bile duct cancer (iCCA)
Researchers will study how differences within a single tumor and between primary and metastatic sites influence disease progression and treatment response in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, using human samples and mouse models.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.