Purpose
Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy Inc. (ACGT) funds research aimed at furthering the development of cell and gene therapy approaches for the treatment of patients with cancer.
Research Objectives
According to the latest American Cancer Society data the 5-year relative survival rate for most cancers has improved in the last 40 years. The only exceptions are uterine (endometrial) cancer and cervical cancer—whose survival rates have declined. Women younger than age 50 are also almost twice as likely to develop cancer than young men a gap which has widened since the early 2000s. Gynecological cancers including ovarian endometrial and cervical cancers remain a leading cause of cancer deaths and a major challenge to women’s health worldwide. The mortality rate of ovarian cancer is three times higher than that of breast cancer and it is predicted to increase significantly by the year 2040. The current 5-year survival rate is only 25–47% worldwide even after aggressive treatment.
This new grant award is for those conducting cell and gene therapy research specifically in gynecological cancers (ovarian endometrial cervical) including but not limited to the following research areas:
- Approaches that investigate and manipulate the immunosuppressive tumor micro-environment to achieve a robust immune response utilizing cell or gene therapies targeting regulatory T cells (T-regs) tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) tumor-entrained neutrophils and myeloid– derived suppressor cells (MDSCs).
- Identifying predictive biomarkers that will help identify patients who are more likely to respond to cell and gene therapies.
- Resolving key challenges limiting cell trafficking infiltration and persistence including antigen presentation defects tumor heterogeneity and genomic instability and tumor micro-environment factors.
- Approaches that focus on endothelial cells myeloid cells cancer-associated fibroblast populations regulatory T-cells or relevant immune effectors that regulate the growth proliferation and metastasis of cancers.
- Gene therapy approaches focused on mutation compensation immunopotentiation expression of neoantigen-reactive TCRs oncolytic viruses etc.
- Advancements in CAR T designs including in vivo approaches armored tandem and switch CARs CAR-macrophages CAR-NK cells and CARMSCs the inclusion of chemokine and cytokines costimulatory domains multi-antigen targeting etc.
- Novel approaches using less applied immune cell types including transfection with tumor-specific T-Cell Receptors Gamma-Delta T cells Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes Natural Killer cells iPSC-derived cells as autologous or allogeneic cells.
- Combination approaches that leverage cell and gene therapy including CARs and oncolytic viruses alongside other immunotherapy approaches such as checkpoint inhibitors systemic cytokines or bispecific antibodies.