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.