{"entity":{"id":"ignacio-melero","kind":"person","name":"Ignacio Melero","aka":[],"tldr":"Spanish immunologist who pioneered CD137 agonist antibodies and intratumoural immunotherapy.","summary":"Ignacio Melero showed in 1997 that agonist antibodies to CD137 (4-1BB) eradicate established tumours in mice, founding the field of costimulatory agonist immunotherapy, and has led early-phase trials of CD137 agonists, intratumoural immunostimulants and combination immunotherapy in liver cancer. He co-authored the CheckMate 040 nivolumab studies in hepatocellular carcinoma and leads immunotherapy research at CIMA and Clínica Universidad de Navarra.","asOf":"2026-09-10","links":[{"label":"PubMed","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Melero%20I%5BAuthor%5D%20immunotherapy%20CD137"}],"tags":["immunotherapy","costimulation","spain"],"related":[],"cancers":["hcc"],"sections":[],"technologies":["checkpoint-inhibitor","cytokine-therapy"],"targets":[],"drugs":["nivolumab"],"companies":[],"institutions":["cun-navarra"],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":["nature-reviews-clinical-oncology"],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"role":"Professor of Immunology, Universidad de Navarra; Senior Consultant, Clínica Universidad de Navarra","institutionId":"cun-navarra","specialisms":["Tumour immunology","Intratumoural immunotherapy","Costimulatory agonists (CD137, OX40)","Early-phase immunotherapy"],"profiles":[{"label":"PubMed","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Melero%20I%5BAuthor%5D%20immunotherapy%20CD137"}],"papers":[{"title":"Monoclonal antibodies against the 4-1BB T-cell activation molecule eradicate established tumors","journal":"Nature Medicine","year":1997,"doi":"10.1038/nm0697-682"},{"title":"Intratumoural administration and tumour tissue targeting of cancer immunotherapies","journal":"Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology","year":2021,"doi":"10.1038/s41571-021-00507-y"}]},"route":"/people/ignacio-melero/","neighbours":{"cancer":[{"id":"hcc","kind":"cancer","name":"Hepatocellular carcinoma","route":"/cancers/hcc/"}],"technology":[{"id":"cytokine-therapy","kind":"technology","name":"Cytokines & engineered cytokines","route":"/technologies/cytokine-therapy/"},{"id":"checkpoint-inhibitor","kind":"technology","name":"Immune checkpoint inhibitors","route":"/technologies/checkpoint-inhibitor/"}],"drug":[{"id":"nivolumab","kind":"drug","name":"Nivolumab","route":"/drugs/nivolumab/"}],"institution":[{"id":"cun-navarra","kind":"institution","name":"Cancer Center Clínica Universidad de Navarra / CIMA","route":"/institutions/cun-navarra/"}],"journal":[{"id":"nature-reviews-clinical-oncology","kind":"journal","name":"Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology","route":"/journals/nature-reviews-clinical-oncology/"}]}}