Despite major advances, cancer treatment remains a major medical challenge. Increasing evidence shows that the immune system plays a central role in tumor development, progression, and therapy response, reshaping cancer management through innovative immune-based strategies. Immunotherapy has emerged as a powerful tool, offering new hope, though its effectiveness varies, requiring deeper biological insight.
Our interdisciplinary team of biomedical researchers and clinicians investigates the immunobiology of cancer, with a focus on breast cancer. We study how specific immune cell subsets influence tumor growth, metastasis, and responses to chemotherapy and immunotherapy. Through longitudinal studies tracking patients across treatments, we examine how the immune system evolves and identify dynamic changes linked to clinical outcomes.
By integrating patient-centered research with advanced technologies such as single-cell RNA sequencing and 3D co-culture models, we aim to uncover immune features that can serve as predictive or prognostic biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets.
Ultimately, our goal is to translate these discoveries into innovative strategies that enhance treatment effectiveness and improve patients’ quality of life, advancing cancer care and benefiting society as a whole.
Projects
- 31-05-2027 — Personalizing Immunotherapy for High-Risk Early-Stage Triple-Negative Breast Cancer by Targeting Immunosuppressive Neutrophils
(Funded by: Research Grant 2024 from Liga Portuguesa Contra o Cancro)
This project aims to identify predictive biomarkers and immune targets to improve outcomes with neoadjuvant immune checkpoint inhibitors. Using single-cell RNA sequencing and functional assays, we study systemic neutrophil subsets to reveal their effects on T cell function and immunotherapy resistance, advancing precision medicine in triple-negative breast cancer.
- 31-03-2027 - Development of a TIME-on-chip platform to evaluate novel strategies targeting pro-tumor neutrophils to ameliorate Breast Cancer treatments
(Funded by: Research Grant 2025 by MPS NOVA Twinning)
This project investigates the role of a novel low-density neutrophil subset, identified by our team, in breast cancer progression and resistance to anti-PD-1 immunotherapy, while exploring strategies to mitigate their harmful effects, using an advanced spheroid-on-chip model that closely mimics the breast cancer microenvironment.
- 28-02-2027 — Targeting Immunosuppressive Neutrophils: Unlocking New Pathways in Immune Oncology to Improve Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Treatments
(Funded by: Research Grant 2024 from Gilead Genese Program)
This study employs an unbiased single-cell RNA sequencing strategy to characterize the heterogeneous population of circulating neutrophils arising in metastatic breast cancer. Our goal is to identify biomarkers that can improve patient monitoring during palliative treatment and help determine which patients may benefit most from immunotherapy.
- 31-07-2026 — NeutroTarget: A Novel Subset of Immunosuppressive Neutrophils as a Biomarker and Therapeutic Target in Metastatic Breast Cancer
(Funded by: Caixa Impulse Health Innovation 2023 from “La Caixa” Foundation)
This project investigates human circulating low-density neutrophils linked to poorer outcomes in breast cancer. We have identified a novel subset within these cells with strong immunosuppressive properties that may influence immunotherapy success. We are currently assessing its potential as both a predictive biomarker and a therapeutic target to enhance treatment strategies for breast cancer.
Publications
- Correia BF, Grosa D, Salvador R; Brites I, Martins T, Braga S, Sousa CX, Vitorino M, Jacinto A, Cabral MG. Neutrophils matter: New clinical insights on their role in metastatic Breast Cancer progression. bioRxiv. 2025. doi.org/10.1101/2025.04.11.648384
- Salvador R, Correia BF; Grosa D; Martins T; Soares Baal SC, Saraiva DP, Cristovão-Ferreira S, Pereira IL, Rebelo de Almeida C, Fior R, Jacinto A, Mathias C, Braga S, Cabral MG. HLA-DR expression in Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes: a key to boost the therapeutic potential of T cell- based strategies for Breast Cancer. Frontiers in Immunology. 2025 Sep 19;16:1653970. doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2025.1653970.
- Tomás A, Roquel L, Francisco I, Silva AL, Nunes H, Gouveia E, Carvalho E, Farricha V, Moura C, Rosa JC, Garrido PM, Albuquerque C, Pereira P, Cabral MG, et al. A novel patient-derived cutaneous melanoma cell line reveals key features of metastatic melanoma. Frontiers in Oncology. 2025 Jul 18;15:1531013. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2025.1531013.
- Domingues NS, Gaifen J, Matthisen R, Saraiva DP*, Bento L, Marques A, Sampaio J, Hlose C, Surma M, Almeida, MS, Mendes G, Gonçalves PA, Ferreira J, Melo RG, Pedro LM, Simmons K, Pinho e Melo TMVPD, MG Cabral, et al. Cholesteryl hemiazelate idenditied in cardivascular disease patients causes in vitro and in vivo inflammation. J Lipid Res. 2023 64(9). doi.org/10.1016/j.jlr.2023.100419
- Coelho S, Cabral MG, Salvador R, Andrade C, Martins A, Correia BF, Freitas P, Maria Cruzado J, Jacinto A. Urinary immune cell phenotype of severe AKI in critically ill patients. International Urology and Nephrology. 2022 Aug; 54(8):2047-2055. DOI: 10.1007/s11255-021-03088-y
- Saraiva DP, Correia BF, Salvador R, De Sousa N, Jacinto A, Braga S, Cabral MG. Circulating Low Density Neutrophils of Breast Cancer Patients are Associated with their Worse Prognosis due to the Impairment of T cell Responses. Oncotarget. 2021 Nov 23;12(24):2388-2403.DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.28135.
- Silva G, Sales-Dias J, Casal D, Alves S, Domenici G, Barreto C, Matos C, Lemos AR, Matias AT, Kucheryava K, Ferreira A, Moita MR, Braga S, Brito C, Cabral MG, Casalou C, Barral DC, Sousa PMF, Videira PA, Bandeiras TM, Barbas A.Development of Dl1.72, a Novel Anti-DLL1 Antibody with Anti-Tumor Efficacy against Estrogen Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer. Cancers 2021.13(16):4074. DOI: 10.3390/cancers13164074
- Saraiva DP, Azeredo-Lopes S, Antunes A, Salvador R, Borralho P, Assis B, Pereira, IL, Seabra Z, Negreiros I, Jacinto A, Braga S, Cabral MG. Expression of HLA-DR in Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes: A Validated Predictive Biomarker and a Potential Therapeutic Strategy in Breast Cancer. Cancers. 2021 Jul 30;13(15):3841. doi: 10.3390/cancers13153841.
- Saraiva DP, Matias AT, Braga S, Jacinto A, Cabral MG. Establishment of a 3D Co-culture With MDA-MB-231 Breast Cancer Cell Line and Patient-Derived Immune Cells for Application in the Development of Immunotherapies. Frontiers in Oncology. 2020 Aug 27;10:1543. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2020.01543
- Saraiva DP, Jacinto A, Borralho P, Braga S, Cabral MG. HLA-DR expression in cytotoxic T Lymphocytes predicts Breast Cancer patients’ response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Frontiers in Immunology. 2018 Nov 13;9:2605. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2018.02605.
Prizes and Awards
- 2025: Research Grant within MPS NOVA Twinning
- 2024:Research Grant from Liga Portuguesa Contra o Cancro
- 2024: Research Grant from Gilead Génese Program
- 2023: CaixaImpulse Innovation Grant from ‘la Caixa’ foundation
- 2023: Best Paper Award by Portuguese Nephrology Society
- 2021: iNOVA4Health Grant (UIBD/04462/2020) – internal competitive call
- 2020: Scicare-Novartis Health Science accelerator program
- 2019: Pfizer/Sociedade das Ciências Médicas - prize on the category of Clinical Research
- 2019: Liga Portuguesa Contra o Cancro/Terry Fox Research Grant
- 2018: Tagus Tank Consortium – Projects in Medicine Prize
Colaborations
- Guilherme Vilhais - CUF Tejo
- Idília Pina - Unidade Local de Saúde Arco Ribeirinho, Centro Hospitalar Barreiro Montijo
- Gabriela Gasparinho - Unidade Local de Saúde Amadora Sintra, Hospital Professor Doutor Fernando Fonseca
- Mariana Marques - Unidade Local de Saude Amadora Sintra, Hospital Professor Doutor Fernando Fonseca
- Luís Gafeira - Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier
- Marta Pojo - Molecular Pathology Research Unit, Instituto Português de Oncologia de Lisboa Francisco Gentil
- Carolina Mathias - Genetic Department, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil
- Jaqueline Carvalho - Genetic Department, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil