Mathias Heikenwälder

Univ. Prof.
Director The M3 Research Center
UKT

Division Head
German Cancer Research Center
Chronic Inflammation and Cancer

Views are my own

[The Baveno Cooperation: an EASL Consortium @BavenoCoop]

🧫 New multisociety consensus on PSVD
🗣️ L. Elkrief | #EASLCongress
🔬 PSVD & NCPF now interchangeable
⚠️ Biopsy mandatory | can be diagnosed WITHOUT portal hypertension
💡 First globally endorsed framework (EASL/AASLD/APASL/ALEH)
🔗 https://t.co/aO1PaWIuN0

[Mathias Heikenwälder @CancerInflam]

This will become extremely useful to the scientific community. What mouse model to use in order to mimic steatotic liver disease (SLD), which in vitro models, what to take care of, what to analyse - we have integrated recommendations and introduced the state of the art models.

[Mathias Heikenwälder @CancerInflam]

Thank you to Suchira Gallage, Rui Castro, Jennifer Estall, Ira Tabas, Quentin Anstee, Dina Tiniakos Gyongyi Szabo, Jun Yu, Chantal Desdouets, Frank Tacke and, Fiona Oakley - it was more than a pleasure to work on this with you - @EASLnews @EASLedu @JHepatology

[Mathias Heikenwälder @CancerInflam]

The "EASL position paper on preclinical models of steatotic liver disease" is out - a great team effort.
https://t.co/LAmAZioOmD

[Valerie Chew @Valeriechew29]

Early Sat am ☕️ at #EASL2026, but definitely worth waking up for exciting new data and discussions 💡 on “#MASLD-related #HCC: Pathogenesis, Immunology and Treatment” chaired by @CancerInflam and @MarcoSanduzzi
See you there!
@derekamann1 @EASLnews
https://t.co/huK8r4GzBN

[Derek A Mann @derekamann1]

This will be an excellent scientific session at EASL 2026 congress on HCC in the background of metabolic liver disease. It’s an early morning session on 30th May but is going to be well worth the early morning wake up!
@EASLnews @CancerInflam @Valeriechew29

[GutMicrobiota Health @GMFHx]

Diet in liver diseases: What should I tell my patients?
A focused discussion on prevention, treatment and the role of diet–microbiome interactions in liver disease.

Mathias Heikenwälder @CancerInflam & Gabriel Perlemuter

👉 Save your seat for #GMFH2026
https://t.co/ub2svgi8gg

[Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News @GENbio]

Activated Gene Promotes Liver Cancer but Also Improves Immunotherapy Response

Study suggests that persistently activated ATF6α is a #tumordriver, a potential stratification marker for #immunotherapyresponse, and a therapeutic target for #HCC
@CancerInflam
https://t.co/8Qnt2DeK3r

[DKFZ @DKFZ]

Researchers from DKFZ, University Hospital Tübingen & Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute discovered that chronic cellular stress promotes liver cancer - but at the same time renders tumors vulnerable to immunotherapy. @Nature @CancerInflam
https://t.co/nSWbnYrw7z

[EASLnews @EASLnews]

In a state-of-the-art at #LiverCancerSummit 2026 Matthias Heikenwälder @CancerInflam outlined how chronic inflammation, metabolism and immune contexture converge to drive hepatocellular carcinoma, and how this biology can be therapeutically exploited.

▶️MASLD and MetALD are emerging as dominant future causes, adding to tumour heterogeneity
▶️Distinct molecular and immune subclasses of HCC shape prognosis and therapy response
▶️Drug repurposing, such as metformin combined with immunotherapy, shows promise in both experimental and patient data
▶️The future of HCC treatment lies in integrated molecular, pathological and clinical stratification

Liver cancer is caused by chronic inflammation, but it is the specific inflammatory and metabolic context that determines therapy response.

[Mathias Heikenwälder @CancerInflam]

Fantastic conference on liver pathobiology - soon to come!

[Valerie Chew @Valeriechew29]

Early bird registration ending today! Register now and don't miss the opportunity to join us in this #Liver #pathobiology meeting in Greece!

[Moritz Mall @MoritzMall]

#CellPlasticity—the ability of cells to change their identity—is vital for tissue growth and repair. But when it goes unchecked, it can fuel #cancer. Our latest study examines how to block #LiverCancer by actively suppressing plasticity. https://t.co/ddl4mJGvhA #CancerBiology

[DKFZ Immunology Infection and Cancer @DKFZImmunology]

The next appointment of our i2 @DKFZ seminar series is on Thursday, October 31st, at 4 pm.
We'll hear two Data & Technique talks by Ilka Wahl, postdoc in Hedda Wardemann’s lab, and Kam Shing, PhD student in Mathias Heikenwälder’s lab.
Join us for a lively discussion!
More info 👇

[Mathias Heikenwälder @CancerInflam]

What a great collaboration - hard work and exciting results. More to come ! Danke @MoritzMall, team and all collaborators.

[Moritz Mall @MoritzMall]

Excited to share our first preprint with @zauggj @embl! We screened 1,296 transcription factors for repressors that block unwanted plasticity and found many putative tumour suppressors. PROX1 stands out as hepatocyte safeguard that prevents #livercancer. https://t.co/qayayMO6xd

[Tom Luedde @tom_luedde]

Universität Düsseldorf: Leberkrebs: Die Fitness von Tumorzellen als Angriffspunkt für neue Therapien https://t.co/E4hgN0DZuw

[Mathias Heikenwälder @CancerInflam]

We show:
-HBV1.3 transgenic mice develop HCC in the absence of inflammation.
- HBVxfs mice, expressing all HBV proteins but a truncated HBx, display significantly reduced HCC incidence.
- Hepatocyte-specific STAT3-knockout abrogates HCC
development.

[Mathias Heikenwälder @CancerInflam]

Happy that this collaborative effort is out. Thanks to the laboratories of @UlrikeProtzer, Massimo Levrero, Heiner Wedmeyer, Roland Rad, Kristian Unger, and many others. A true long-term colaboration - led by Marc Ringelhan and Svenja Schüle https://t.co/vq8eF5Ojn3

[Mathias Heikenwälder @CancerInflam]

Great collaboration with the laboratory of Tom Luedde and many others. Once again very inspiring and fruitful.

[Tom Luedde @tom_luedde]

Out in @JHepatology : KIF23 and miR-107 control replicative fitness in hepatocellular carcinoma and might be a new therap. target. Thanks to all collaborators and funders! https://t.co/mTiW5VZzmX @EASLedu @EASLnews @MedHHU @UniklinikDUS @CancerInflam @dfg_public @IfADo_info

[MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences (LMS) @MRC_LMS]

The work was led by @GallageSuchira, the Metabolic Signalling Group and the Senescence Group at @MRC_LMS in collaboration with @CancerInflam

#AgingResearch #Longevity #NatureAging

[Mathias Heikenwälder @CancerInflam]

Great collaborative work between many groups - with a quite surprising result: https://t.co/kKdoo8TdN6 - it has been a real pleasure and a real journey in which we learned a lot.