Dr Matthew Blunt
University of Southampton
Awarded: £58,923
Funded in collaboration with GIST Cancer UK
The challenge
Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumours (GISTs) are the most common type of sarcoma, making up around 1 in 5 sarcoma cases. Thanks to targeted drugs called tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), survival rates have improved in recent years. However, these treatments don’t work for everyone. This means many patients still need new and more effective treatment options.
How will this project tackle this challenge?
This research will explore immunotherapy; a type of treatment that helps the body’s own immune system fight cancer. The team are investigating a type of immunotherapy called CAR-NK cell therapy. This involves equipping a type of immune cell called a natural killer (NK) cell with special receptors so it can find and destroy cancer cells.
The team will identify molecules found on the surface of GIST cells that could be used to help immune cells recognise them. With this information they will develop and test the first ever CAR-NK therapy designed for GIST, using technology already proven in other cancer types. They will also test whether existing immunotherapy drugs, such as one called monalizumab, can activate NK cells to kill GIST cells in the lab.
What this means for people affected by sarcoma
This project could lead to new treatment options for people with GIST, especially for those whose cancer doesn’t respond to existing therapies. If the lab tests show promise, in the future the monalizumab treatment could move into clinical trials for GIST, as it is already shown to be safe in other cancers. In addition, CAR-NK therapy has been shown to be a safe and powerful treatment for other cancers, and this project may lay the groundwork for further research for the use of CAR-NK therapy in GIST.
