Importance of dendritic cells in pathogenesis and therapy of conjunctival melanoma

• Applicants: Professor Dr. Ludwig M. Heindl; Dr. Simona Schlereth
• Subject Area: Ophthalmology
• Term: from 2019 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 418918671

Conjunctival melanoma is the second most frequent malignancy of the ocular surface, leading to metastasis in up to 50% of the patients. There are no curing therapies available yet for metastasized stages of the disease. Recently, we have developed a mouse model for conjunctival melanoma in immune competent mice to study immunological principles and new treatment approaches. Only very little is known about immunological principles in conjunctival melanoma due to missing mouse models. The goal of this project is to bridge this gap and get a better understanding of immune cell status in conjunctival melanoma, especially dendritic cells. In a next step we aim to investigate treatment options to lower the incidents of metastasis and improve survival of patients suffering from conjunctival melanoma.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants