Global aims of the department
All seven teams of the Department share an interest in understanding the extrinsic factors that promote or prevent cellular transformation and tumor progression. Within this overall aim, each team brings to the department complementary expertise and approaches. Firstly, the teams aim to understand how inflammation can promote tumor development, or prevent tumor establishment, in particular how innate immune sensors contribute to viral or tumor persistence/progression/dissemination or, conversely, to its eradication. Secondly, their projects address the role of innate immune effectors in the initiation of adaptive anti-tumor immunity and how viruses and tumors evade these immune responses. Thirdly, their objective is to decipher the contribution of cellular or viral oncogenic events and of the immune and non-immune microenvironment to tumor progression, in particular to stem cell transformation and maintenance. Finally, the dual role of TGF-β family members in controlling inflammation and promoting tumor progression or immune escape will also be studied.

An important characteristic of this department is the involvement of clinicians, which ensures both cognitive and clinical research via close links with clinical departments of the Centre Léon Bérard and the University Hospital (Hospices Civils de Lyon). This has a strong impact on translational research towards the development of innovative therapeutic strategies. In particular, the teams are deeply involved in the development of therapies centered on cellular oncogenes and viral targets, in combination with strategies based on immune reactivation against viruses and cancers. In addition, specific approaches such as therapeutic antibodies are also studied. Finally, the teams are also involved in the identification and validation of clinically relevant prognostic and predictive parameters of viral infections and cancers.

This department is composed of 7 research teams: 
- Therapeutic targeting of the tumor and of its immune environment. Co-direction Jean-Yves Blay & Christophe Caux
- Signalling of innate immunity and oncogenesis. Direction Toufic Renno
- Inflammasome and cancer. Direction Virginie Petrilli 
- TGF-beta and immune evasion. Direction Julien Marie
- Anticancer antibodies. Direction Charles Dumontet
- Pathogenesis of hepatitis B and C. Co-direction Fabien Zoulim & Lucyna Cova
- Hepatocarcinogenesis and viral infection. Co-direction Philippe Merle & Isabelle Chemin