“The Grant incorporates projects that will trial some novel therapies that complement the existing array of surgical and therapeutic options for patients,” said Professor Miles Prince, Chair of Clinical Cancer Studies and Director of the Centre for Blood Cell Therapies (CBCT) at Peter MacCallum’s.

Prof Prince added that “although immunotherapy approaches are currently generally targeted toward established malignancy, immunotherapy strategies are of increasing interest as an approach to arrest cancer at a much earlier stage”.

Cancer immunotherapy refers to any approach that manipulates a patient's immune system to limit or cure disease. Whereas microbial immunity arises from a delicate balance between positive and negative regulatory pathways that together dictate innate and adaptive responses to foreign antigens, the response to cancer is even more complex because of the need to target what are essentially self-antigens.

Immunotherapeutic strategies range from vaccines that mobilise a patient's immune system de novo (active immunotherapy), to administering preformed biologicals such as monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), cytokines, or exogenously activated immune cells - adoptive immunotherapy.

Evidence for immune surveillance and immune responses to cancer continues to mount, while encouraging responses in clinical trials of a range of therapies attest to the potential of these approaches.

Prof Prince said that the Peter MacCallum’s team of five chief investigators and eight co-investigators has a strong track record of research achievement with a large number of papers published in high level journals and a solid record of research achievement and recognition over some years.

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