WHERE DOES THE MONEY GO?
A NEW IMMUNOTHERAPY APPROACH TO TARGET TRIPLE-NEGATIVE BREAST CANCER
2021 - 2023
INSTITUTION:
Queensland Institute of Medical Research Berghofer
CHIEF RESEARCHER:
Prof. Kum Kum Khanna
This research will improve our knowledge about the factors that inhibit growth and recurrence of breast cancer, which is critical to unlocking better treatment strategies. It holds promise for rapid translation to the clinic given encouraging recent successes with immunotherapy approaches for hard-to-treat cancers.
Triple Negative Breast Cancers (TNBCs) are often aggressive, often spread to the brain and lungs, and account for the majority of female cancer-related deaths globally. To improve on the efficacy of immunotherapy and increase the percentage of patients who benefit from an approach that targets exhausted immune cells in TNBCs, Prof. Kum Kum Khanna has identified and characterised a new vaccine target. CEP55 is a tumour specific antigen. Researchers have identified peptides derived from CEP55 that can stimulate the generation of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) that can recognise and kill breast cancer cells. This research involves testing the feasibility and efficacy of a novel CEP55-based peptide vaccine by exploiting a new cancer vaccine delivery platform developed by collaborators Prof. Riccardo Dolcetti and Dr. Roberta Mazzieri.
