Characterisation of cancer specific T cells from HNSCC patients
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Characterisation of cancer specific T cells from patients with head and neck cancer
IRAS ID
193562
Contact name
John Greenman
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Hull
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 11 months, 31 days
Research summary
T-cell therapy is a powerful new treatment for cancer, whereby patients’ T cells are modified to make them more tumour-specific and improve their ability to destroy tumour cells. However this technology is very expensive and time-consuming and it is not likely to become generally available.
T-Cypher Bio are a biotechnology company who have established a technology for isolating the T Cell Receptor (TCR) molecule that gives the cells their unique specificity. The plan is to take blood and a sample of tumour tissue and extract the T cells from these sources and then identify the receptors that specifically recognise tumour cells. As T cells recognise a series of molecules called the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) these will be sequenced for each patient. The tumour specific T cells will be cultured in the laboratory and tested for their ability to kill tumour cells. Finally, having identified the most effective TCR at targeting tumour cells, the DNA sequences from these molecules will be sequenced and expressed in primary T cells to see if the ability to destroy tumour cells can be transferred. This is new technology that has been shown to work in laboratory tests but now needs to be applied to patient samples. It is important to stress that no samples will be returned to the patient, all the work will be undertaken in the laboratory.REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - South Yorkshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/YH/0205
Date of REC Opinion
5 Sep 2022
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion