Create an Adult Immunotherapy Network
NCI has announced several funding opportunities that align with the Cancer Moonshot.
See Funding OpportunitiesImmunotherapy leverages the ability of the immune system to recognize and destroy infected, damaged, and transformed cells. This type of cancer treatment often enhances the activity of immune cells called ‘effector T cells’, whose function is to kill cancer cells by distinguishing them from their normal counterparts. However, barriers remain and need to be addressed to improve the effectiveness of immunotherapy.
While there has been some promising success in treating certain cancers with immunotherapy, it has been less effective in others. It is often more difficult to safely and effectively target the cancer cells in solid tumors without harming normal tissues. The tumor’s microenvironment may also suppress the immune system, limiting its ability to fight off the cancer.
This recommendation is focused on creating an adult cancer immunotherapy translational network to overcome these barriers and develop immunotherapies that are effective for a diverse group of patients with various cancer types. In addition, the network aims to create vaccines that will aid effector T cells in recognizing cancers in their premalignant stages, effectively preventing new cancer cases.
Ultimately, the hope is to develop new immunotherapies and improve the effectiveness of current immunotherapy treatments to reduce the burden of cancer in adults.
NCI has awarded funding to several research projects that align with the panel's recommendation to address immunotherapy in adults:
The Immuno-Oncology Translational Network (IOTN)
This collaborative network is working to accelerate the discovery of new immune targets for cancer treatments and development of new immunotherapies to treat and prevent adult cancers. The IOTN consortium includes researchers who are investigating immune mechanisms involved in cancer progression, evaluating new immunotherapies, and developing preventive cancer vaccines. The network also has a Cellular Immunotherapy Data Resource that supports a data registry that collects information about adult patients receiving cell-based immunotherapies, which can inform future studies of immunotherapies.
The IOTN Data Management and Resource Sharing Center promotes collaboration between IOTN investigators and outreach of the network to the cancer research community.
NCI Center for Cell-Based Therapy (CCT)
NCI created an intramural cell-based therapy center that focuses on the use of living immune cells for cancer immunotherapies. The center supports the discovery and development of new cellular immunotherapies to treat cancer patients. The center is performing basic research of cell-based cancer therapies, accelerating translation of cell-based immunotherapy findings to the clinic, training scientists for immunotherapy studies, and providing cancer researchers with access to immunotherapy-related technologies.
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