T4 Immunotherapy in SCCHN
The KHP ECMC team has a strong track record in the development and preclinical testing of cell therapy agents which use the patient’s own immune cells in a range of cancers. Recently, KHP scientists have developed a groundbreaking approach in head and neck cancer called T4 immunotherapy.
The T4 immunotherapy exploits prevalent and fundamental mechanisms by which aberrant upregulation of the ErbB network drives tumorigenesis in Squamous Cell Cancer of the Head and Neck (SCCHN). The patient’s immune cells (T-cells) are modified using a safe virus to express two new fusion proteins and are then expanded in culture for 2 weeks. The first fusion protein is a Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) that enables T-cells to recognize and kill tumour cells that express any of a range of ErbB receptor pairs. The second fusion protein facilitates the expansion process, rendering manufacture of cell products more robust.
The preclinical results were so encouraging that Dr John Maher received a Wellcome Trust Translation Award to bring this treatment forward to the clinic. The goal of this open-labelled, non-randomized, dose-escalation phase I trial is to investigate the safety of T4 immunotherapy when administered to treat loco-regional disease in SCCHN that is not suitable for conventional active therapy. The need for better treatments is welcomed as unlike many other cancers, the primary cause of mortality in head and neck cancer is locally advanced disease rather than metastasis.