Development of immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Development of novel immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer
IRAS ID
313213
Contact name
David Marc Davies
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Leucid Bio Ltd
Duration of Study in the UK
5 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
The immune system is responsible for keeping humans healthy by recognising the presence of so-called 'foreign' agents (e.g. viruses and bacteria) and mediating a rapid, specific and potent response to eliminate such agents. Harnessing of such a response against tumour cells would provide a powerful treatment for cancer. Unfortunately, as cancer arises from normal cells, tumour cells are rarely seen as foreign by the immune system and therefore generally continue to grow unabated. However, the immune system can be taught to identify, and destroy, cancer cells by growing immune cells (‘white blood cells’) under specific conditions in a laboratory, through genetic engineering, or a combination of both. Indeed, such approaches have demonstrated dramatic anti-tumour activity in patients, notably in those with blood cancer. However, results against so called ‘solid tumours’ (non-blood cancers) using these strategies have been underwhelming, in part due to the ability of the cancer cells to generate a suppressive environment that ‘turns off’ the white blood cells. With solid tumours representing the majority of the cancer burden, novel therapies are desperately required.
Our research focusses on trying to enhance the recognition of tumour cells by the immune system to improve efficacy against both solid tumours and blood cancers. White blood cells are harvested from blood samples and genetically modified, grown under specific conditions, or a combination of both strategies to enhance their anti-tumour efficacy. Confirmation of enhanced function is then tested against cancer cells in the laboratory and in mouse models.
REC name
London - Harrow Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/LO/0357
Date of REC Opinion
4 Jul 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion