he immune system is supposed to work, the better they can improve or treat malfunctions in the system that allow cancer to grow. “Basically, immunotherapy uses the capabilities that already exist in the human body’s and makes them more effective at fighting cancer cells,” says Ginder. “This line of research offers great potential to improve cancer treatments while decreasing unwanted side effects. As such, it fits squarely with the goal of modern cancer therapy, which is find to find new ways to eliminate cancer more effectively and simultaneously offer better quality of life.”
At VCU Massey Cancer Center, immunotherapy has gained attention and funding across several research programs, including the Developmental Therapeutics, Cancer Molecular Genetics and Cancer Cell Signaling programs.
Developing a new “vaccine” for metastatic cancers
Massey researcher Xiang-Yang Wang, Ph.D., Harrison Scholar and member of the Cancer Molecular Genetics research program, has recently published results of a pre-clinical cutting-edge study in which an engineered immune modulator called Flagrp-170 was used to achieve localized vaccination on melanoma, prostate and colon tumors. Flagrp-170 consists of two distinct proteins. One of these proteins, known as Grp170, is currently being explored for use in the development of a “cancer vaccine,” because it has been shown to help the immune system recognize cancer cells that normally have the ability to suppress the body’s natural defense system. When combined with a fragment of another protein, flagellin, the immune system is activated in a unique way that promotes apoptosis, or cell suicide, in cancer cells.
Wang conducted a study that showed a positive response in animal models of melanoma, prostate and colon cancers. The study was recently published in Cancer Research, and Wang and his team continue to gain more understanding of the molecular mechanisms responsible for Flagrp-170’s therapeutic effects. Additional studies are underway that hope to efficiently target and deliver the molecule to tumor sites for an even stronger response.
“This immunotherapy has the potential to be used alone or in combination with conventional cancer treatments to develop and establish immune protection against cancer and its metastases,” says Wang.
Tapping into T cells to combat breast cancer
Masoud Manjili, D.V.M., Ph.D., member of the Cancer Cell Signaling program at Massey, is also at the forefront of groundbreaking research on cancer immunotherapy by targeting and manipulating specific parts of cancer cells.
Manjili and his team focused on overcoming two major barriers of cancer immunotherapy: tumor-induced T cell suppression and T cell-induced tumor editing and relapse. The T cells are a family of immune system cells that keep people healthy by identifying and launching attacks against threats such as bacteria, viruses or cancer. Anti-tumor T cells can both stop or slow down tumor growth on the one hand, but also cause changes in the tumor cells that could lead to tumor relapse on the other hand. “The ultimate goal of immunotherapy is to overcome tumor-induced immune suppression and at the same time induce tumor rejection without facilitating tumor escape and relapse,” says Manjili.
Through lab studies led by Manjili, Massey researchers effectively reprogrammed cells of the innate and adaptive immune systems to overcome a key cancer defense mechanism and develop long-lasting memory to reject breast cancer cells, guarding against tumor relapse. In a study published in the Journal of Immunology, the researchers discovered a way to improve Adoptive Cellular Therapy (ACT), a treatment for breast cancer that taps into the immune system, by activating certain cells which enhance T cells capability to fight blood-forming cells.
These findings could lead to clinical trials that test whether using immunotherapy in a neoadjuvant (prior to surgery) or adjuvant (after surgery) setting in breast cancer patients with a high risk of relapse could prime the patient’s immune system, much like a vaccine, to prevent the likel