Professor David Pinato
Imperial College London
Awarded: £149,147
The challenge
Kaposi sarcoma (KS) is a rare form of skin cancer which can occur in people with HIV. Up to 15% of patients do not respond to HIV treatment alone and require chemotherapy to keep this cancer at bay. Chemotherapy cannot cure KS and can only manage the cancer for a short while. Chemotherapy has negative side effects, some life-threatening, including infection, vomiting, diarrhoea and irreversible nerve and heart damage. We urgently need new treatments manage KS without causing severe side effects.
How will this project tackle this challenge?
Immunotherapy is a new way to kill cancer directly, by helping the patient’s own body detect and kill cancer cells. With this research the aim is to understand if there are some patients with Kaposi sarcoma who could benefit from the use of dostarlimab immunotherapy sparing them from negative chemotherapy side effects.
The team are running a a clinical trial where immunotherapy is administered, and tumour samples are collected before and after and tested in the laboratory to investigate if there are certain features which may help us understand which patients may benefit from immunotherapy.
What this means for people affected by sarcoma
By developing new therapies, the team aim to improve the lifespan and quality of life of patients with KS. Secondly, by understanding who responds best to immunotherapy, treatment can be personalised, sparing individuals from unnecessary treatment and helping NHS funds to be spent more efficiently.
