Fanconi anemia (FA) patients show an increased predisposition to squamous cell carcinomas (SCC). Tumors, being complex cellular ecosystems, are composed of a myriad of different cell types including malignant cells, infiltrating immune cells, fibroblasts, and endothelial cells. Interactions among these cell types can determine the prognosis and clinical management of the patient. Infiltrating immune cells have demonstrated to be promising actionable targets in novel therapeutic strategies through the enhancement of their anti- tumoral response. These insights, nonetheless, remain unknown in FA SCC.

In this work we propose to perform spatial analysis of SCC from patients with FA. The technologies that we propose to use (t-CycIF and GeoMX) work with FFPE samples stored in the pathological archives of hospitals. These technologies allow identification of tumor cell types with very high resolution. We will identify markers for patient’s stratification, prognostic markers, and very importantly to propose therapeutic targets for the treatment of patients with cancer, mainly immunotherapy. This will allow us to learn from the past and project improvements for the future of patients with FA.