Boosting the body's defenses against recurrent ovarian cancer and managing fluid buildup
Official title: Targeting complement to enhance antitumor immunity and control malignant effusions in patients with recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer
Funded at Roswell Park Cancer Institute Corp · NIH-11141676 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project explores a new way to strengthen the immune system against recurrent ovarian cancer and reduce fluid accumulation by targeting a specific part of the immune response.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Roswell Park Cancer Institute Corp NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Buffalo, United States) |
| Project start | August 24, 2022 |
| Project end | July 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $642,760 |
| NIH project number | 5R01CA267690-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11141676 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
This opportunity is for patients with recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer who also experience persistent malignant effusions, which is fluid buildup.
✕Less likely to help
Patients whose cancer is not recurrent or who do not have malignant effusions may not be suitable for this specific approach.
What this research studies
Ovarian cancer can be challenging to treat, especially when it returns, and current immune therapies don't always work well. We've found that certain immune cells, called neutrophils, can sometimes suppress the body's ability to fight the cancer, and this process involves a system called complement. This project aims to block the complement system using a medication called APL-2 to help the immune system better attack cancer cells. We are conducting a clinical trial to see if APL-2 can improve the immune response and help control fluid buildup in patients with recurrent ovarian cancer.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could make immunotherapy more effective and help manage painful fluid accumulation in patients with recurrent ovarian cancer.
How similar studies have gone: Early findings in human samples and animal models suggest that targeting the complement system can boost anti-tumor immunity, and the drug APL-2 has shown to be safe in prior use.
Where this research is happening
-
Roswell Park Cancer Institute Corp
Buffalo, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Zsiros, Emese — Roswell Park Cancer Institute Corp
- Study coordinator: Zsiros, Emese
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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TAG72 CAR-T therapy for recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer
A targeted CAR-T cell therapy delivered into the abdomen for women with recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer to attack cancer cells expressing TAG72.
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Liquid biopsy clues: plasma bacteria as early warning for epithelial ovarian cancer
A patient-friendly look at a new approach that uses tiny bacteria signals in blood to help detect ovarian cancer early.
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Understanding how cancer cells talk to the immune system and how to use that to treat ovarian cancer
This grant studies how aging-like changes in ovarian cancer cells drive harmful signals and tests new ways to block those signals to improve treatment.
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Targeting the immune system to help treat recurrent ovarian cancer
Aims to test a new approach that blocks a part of the immune system (complement) to boost anticancer immunity in people with recurrent ovarian cancer and fluid buildup.
-
Th17-inducing vaccine plus pembrolizumab for recurrent ovarian cancer
A phase I/II study tests a vaccine that activates Th17 immune cells together with pembrolizumab to help fight recurrent ovarian cancer.
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CAR T-cell therapy targeting TAG72 for recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer
This trial tries a CAR T‑cell treatment that targets the TAG72 protein for people with recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer, given directly into the abdomen.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.