Investigating the Immune Response in Haematological Malignancies
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Investigating the immune response to haematological malignancies with a view to novel therapies.
IRAS ID
187247
Contact name
Duncan Murray
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Birmingham
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
187247, IRAS
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 11 months, 28 days
Research summary
This is laboratory research looking at the interaction of the immune system with tumour cells in cutaneous T cell lymphoma (CTCL) and other haematological malignancies. Tumour infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) appear to interact with the malignant cells, and have been found to be specifically directed at tumour cells. By allowing these lymphocytes to act on the tumour, it is hoped that cancer cells can be killed by the patient's own immune system. The immune response can be encouraged with so-called 'immune checkpoint inhibitors'. So far we know of several antigenic signalling mechanisms that suppress the immune system. This research will look at this interaction and correlate this to the clinical course. We will characterise the antigenic targets of these TILs, and cell cultures will be developed to look at cancer cell killing by the infiltrating lymphocytes. Our hypothesis is that expression of immune inhibitors will predict whether cell killing can be augmented by specific immune checkpoint inhibitors.
REC name
West Midlands - Coventry & Warwickshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/WM/0393
Date of REC Opinion
2 Dec 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion