Development of cancer immunotherapy for heterogenous tumor including multiple immunogenic tumors.

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K21549
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Medium-sized Section 50:Oncology and related fields
• Research Institution: Aichi Cancer Center Research Institute (2021); Nagasaki University (2020)
• Principal Investigator: Muraoka Daisuke 愛知県がんセンター(研究所), 腫瘍免疫制御TR分野, ユニット長 (20608955)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-07-30 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: 腫瘍免疫

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Tumors are broadly classified into highly immunogenic tumor and poorly immunogenic tumors based on the immunogenicity of the antigen expressed. In recent years, it has revealed that human clinical tumors contain both highly and poorly immunogenic tumors, and that such tumors are resistant to cancer immunotherapy. In this study, using a mouse heterogenous tumor model, we found that not only immune-related genes, but also extracellular substrate-related gene expression was different in each tumor site of such heterogenous tumors. We also found that cell transfusion therapy is an effective treatment for these tumors.

Free Research Field

腫瘍免疫学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

高免疫原性腫瘍と低免疫原性腫瘍が混在するヘテロジニアスな腫瘍が、どのような機構により免疫療法に対する感受性を獲得するかは依然として不明な点が多い。本研究では、このようなヘテロ腫瘍において、免疫原性の違いが、細胞外基質など腫瘍の構造形成の根幹にかかわる遺伝子発現にまで影響を及ぼすことを明らかにした。また、このような腫瘍には細胞輸注療法を軸とする治療法が効果的であることも明らかにした。以上の結果を組み合わせ発展させることで、今後のがん免疫療法の開発に大きく貢献することが期待される。