INTeRCePT

Personalized Treatment of Blood Cancer

Oncology

Problem: High relapse rates and development of treatment resistance in blood cancer therapy

Goal: To reduce relapse rates through optimized treatment strategies based on the molecular signature of tumor and immune cells

Oncology

INTeRCePT in a Nutshell

Personalized treatment of blood cancer

Analyzes tumor and immune cells from blood cancer patients at the single-cell level
Uses this to develop a simple clinical test: the INTeRCePT assay
Goal: 50% more patients respond to their therapy
2025: a globally unique dataset with more than 1,000 samples from 200+ lymphoma patients

Despite modern therapies, many patients with blood cancer relapse or develop resistance. INTeRCePT aims to change this – by taking a close look at the molecular diversity of tumor and immune cells.

To this end, the team led by Thorsten Zenz (University Hospital Zurich) has set up an “innovation clinic” in Zurich for patients who have relapsed. Analyzing tumor cells and healthy blood cells at the single-cell level produces a detailed map of treatment response – the basis for a new, much simpler test: the INTeRCePT assay. Despite its reduced complexity, it is designed to provide oncologists with all the relevant information. The goal: 50% more patients respond to their therapy.

In 2025, a globally unique dataset was built for this purpose: more than 1,000 samples from over 200 lymphoma patients, including patients receiving CAR T-cell therapies. The first prognostic biomarkers have already been identified. In 2026, the last patients will be recruited for the INTeRCePT 2.0 study – laying the groundwork for the follow-up study INTeRCePT 3.0.

Significance for Medical Research

INTeRCePT’s precision medicine concept has proven so effective in advancing precision oncology that the follow-up project INTeRCePT 3.0 was launched on its basis. The detailed analysis of dynamic changes in tumor cells and their molecular response to treatment provides important insights for planning individualized therapies across a broad spectrum of cancers.

These insights feed directly into the development of optimized treatment approaches and help to further improve the success rates of cancer treatments. With INTeRCePT and its follow-up project INTeRCePT 3.0, Zurich is also gaining an international profile.

INTeRCePT Feature Story

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The project at a glance

Overview

Associated Project: Helmut Horten Anniversary Project

Precision medicine and translational research open up better individualized treatment options for patients.

Patients can take part in a precision medicine program in Ticino and Zurich that focuses on rare lymphomas. These are tumors of the lymphatic system that are associated with immunodeficiencies, infections, and inflammation.

In this extension of the INTeRCePT project, experts from Zurich and Bellinzona are investigating the following question: How are tumors of the lymphatic system and the immune system modulated by normal immune system functions, by viruses, and by common cancer drugs?

Analyzing molecular biological responses at extremely high resolution makes it possible to assess the effects of drugs and immune cells and to link them to the molecular state of the cell. Proteins on the surface and inside millions of cells can be measured simultaneously at the single-cell level and then made accessible and understandable through computer algorithms. In this way, potentially dangerous immune cells can be distinguished from normal immune cells. In keeping with modern translational research, strategies are then developed to harness desired immune functions against tumors in a targeted way.

The collaboration of experts from the University of Zurich, ETH Zurich, University Hospital Zurich, University Children’s Hospital Zurich, Balgrist University Hospital, the Psychiatric University Hospital Zurich, and the Ticino research centers Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB) and Institute of Oncology Research (IOR) represents a unique combination of expertise.

This translational and multidisciplinary research project is made possible by the generous support of the Horten Health Foundation.

Oncology