Genetic analysis of immunological status in oral cancer patients and applications for cancer immunotherapy

2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K17202
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 57060:Surgical dentistry-related
• Research Institution: Kumamoto University
• Principal Investigator: Hirayama Masatoshi 熊本大学, 病院, 非常勤診療医師 (50779171)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2020-03-31
• Keywords: 口腔癌 / 癌免疫療法 / ペプチドワクチン療法

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We conducted the clinical trial of peptide-based cancer vaccines as an adjuvant therapy for oral cancer patients. In this study, we harvested peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from these patients and confirmed the presence of the peptide-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) and the frequencies of M2-macrophages, NK cells, and regulatory T cells by using flow cytometry. In addition, we analyzed the expression of immunologically relevant genes in oral cancer tissues by using NanoString Technologies. Furthermore, we analyzed the concentration of IL-6 in serum collected from oral cancer patients received peptide-based cancer vaccines by ELISA. From now, we analyze the association between these data and clinical efficacy.

Free Research Field

口腔癌

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

進行口腔癌に対しては、以前より手術療法に加えて放射線療法や化学療法を組み合わせることが一 般的である。しかし、口腔癌患者の5年生存率は過去30年間ほとんど変化しておらず、抗PD-1抗体療法を含む癌免疫療法が口腔癌治療のブレークスルーとなることが期待される。癌免疫療法は、患者個人の免疫状態によってその効果は大きく異なるとされるが、口腔癌患者における患者個々の免疫状態の解析は不十分な面がある。したがって、本研究の社会的意義は大きいと考える。