David Barbie and his research team have been awarded the inaugural IASLC and LCRF Team Science Research Grant
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute posted on LinkedIn:
“David Barbie, MD, and his research team have been awarded the inaugural International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) and Lung Cancer Research Foundation (LCRF) Team Science Research Grant on the Next Step in the Cure of Oncogene-Driven Lung Cancers. This prestigious grant, which provides $2.5 million in funding over four years, honors the team’s pioneering efforts in advancing treatments for oncogene-driven cancers. Their work focuses on the development of innovative therapies, including cutting-edge immunotherapeutic approaches, aimed at improving outcomes for patients with lung cancer.
Barbie, director of the Lowe Center for Thoracic Oncology and principal investigator of his lab at the Institute, spearheads a team comprised of Elliott Brea, MD, PhD, Pasi Jänne, MD, PhD, and Eric Smith, MD, PhD, of the Institute, as well as Aaron Hata, MD, PhD, of Massachusetts General Hospital, and Shunsuke Kitajima, PhD, of the Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research. The team’s award-winning project, ‘Immune elimination of drug tolerant persister cells in oncogene-driven lung cancer,’ is a groundbreaking two-pronged study focused on leveraging the immune system to eradicate drug-tolerant persister (DTP) cells. These rare cells, which can survive chemotherapy or targeted therapies, often adapt to develop resistance, contributing to disease relapse in patients with lung cancer.
‘It is a true honor for the LCRF and IASLC to recognize the promise of our joint lung cancer research program, which is possible due to collaborative efforts across the Institute, Mass General, and internationally in Japan,’ remarks Barbie.
In this phase of the project, Barbie and his team will expand upon preliminary data from Hata’s laboratory, which demonstrate that DTP cells partially survive by activating the innate immune system and interferons – proteins that play a critical role in helping the immune system combat disease and infection.
‘Our lab discovered certain enzymes that regulate this signaling,’ explains Barbie. ‘By inhibiting these enzymes, we will test whether untethering the immune system could eradicate tumors and residual cells and increase cure rates.’
The second phase of the project, led by Brea, Jänne, and Smith, focuses on identifying specific chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cells capable of eliminating DTP cells. ‘Using cell therapy to target the DTP cell state makes sense,’ Smith explains. ‘As our data show, these residual cells may be uniquely sensitive to CAR T-cell therapy compared to other treatment modalities. With our collaborators and models of non-small cell lung cancer, we are tackling the challenges posed by a suppressive microenvironment and limited immune cell migration to disease sites.’
Along with advancing the field of lung cancer research and developing new therapies, the team aims to translate its findings into a clinical trial that could significantly impact patient outcomes.”
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