Immunotherapy works because T cells are capable of recognizing and targeting cancer’s abnormal and mutated proteins. Vaccines can educate the immune system about what tumor markers to target, but we don’t yet know which ones make the most effective vaccines, so Dr. Gubin has helped develop a way to identify and predict the best vaccine targets. He has identified two mutated proteins that were targeted by anti-tumor T cells in a sarcoma model, and when mice were vaccinated against those proteins, tumor growth decreased. Dr. Gubin also showed that combining the vaccine with checkpoint blockade further enhanced anti-tumor responses, and he continues to refine his prediction algorithm and improve its ability to select immunotherapy vaccine candidates.
The support from CRI has been instrumental in the research I have pursued, which has led to several promising clinical trials. Without their generous support, this research would not have been possible.
Projects and Grants
Using genomics to identify targets of checkpoint blockade cancer treatment and to identify optimal target antigens for vaccination
Washington University School of Medicine | All Cancers | 2014 | Robert D. Schreiber, Ph.D.
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