Integrating NK and DC into Cancer Therapy

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): DCs, NK and T-cells found within human tumors have been associated with an improved prognosis in almost every tumor type examined. Indeed their recruitment may be modified during development of the chronic inflammatory response. Cancer arises in the setting of chronic inflammation - inducing an acute inflammatory response to elicit new T-cells capable of mediating sustained and more effective antitumor activity is the central premise of this proposal. Integrating NK and DC into Cancer Therapy with direct injection into tumor or coincubated ex vivo with tumor or tumor antigens administered as an immunogen, will result in tumor destruction and elicit an effective adaptive immune response. The identification of critical biomarkers and surrogates using modern proteomic, genomic, and cellomic strategies will be integrated into all projects as a means to test these strategies more readily in early disease. We hypothesize that by directing NK and DC to rumor sites in situ, that we can enhance regression of established local disease, promoting a more effective systemic immunity to tumor. Coordinate signaling is necessary between NK and DCs to initiate optimal TH1 polarization, subsequently driving an effective adaptive T-cell response to cancer. Indeed, after two decades of NK/ANK/LAK adoptive transfer and several years of experience with over 1000 patients receiving DCs, it is becoming apparent that cooperative interactions between NK and DC will be necessary to modify the established immune response to cancer. We will investigate this in four projects: Project I. Initiating the Adaptive Immune Response to Cancer; Project II. NK cells induce DC1-mediated anti-tumor immunity, and Project III. IL-1 Homologues Promote the Acute Inflammatory Response to Melanoma. Development of these three projects will be supported by two cores: A) Administrative, Bioinformatics and Biostatistics Core, and B) Imaging Core. Project I will enable further development of the clinical trials proposed in patients with melanoma and colorectal cancer who will be evaluated and treated in Projects II and III. Evaluation of direct intralymphatic injection of NK matured DC 1 fed tumor antigen or lysates will be contrasted with strategies using direct intratumoral injection of NK and DC.