Help your immune system find and attack tumors by boosting tumor targets and keeping immune helper cells active
Expanding the tumor antigen landscape and maintaining APCs in a T cell-activating state to restore tumor immunity
This project aims to help tumors show more targets and keep immune helper cells active so your T cells can better find and attack cancer.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Colorado Denver NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Aurora, UNITED STATES) |
| Project ID | NIH-11319045 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
This research looks at drugs that block a protein called DNA-PK to make tumors produce more visible targets (antigens) and to keep antigen-presenting cells like dendritic cells in a state that activates T cells. Scientists will use laboratory models and patient tumor samples to measure changes in antigen levels, immune cell presence in tumors, and how T cells respond. The team screened thousands of compounds and found DNA-PK inhibitors that increase antigen expression and correlate with more tumor-infiltrating immune cells in early data. If this approach works, it could be combined with existing T cell therapies to improve responses in cancers that currently resist immune attack.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: People with cancers—especially melanomas or tumors that currently do not provoke strong immune responses—or patients able to donate tumor tissue for research are most relevant.
Not a fit: Patients whose cancers already respond well to current immunotherapies or whose tumors lack the affected antigen-presentation machinery may not benefit.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could make immunotherapies work for more patients by making tumors easier for the immune system to detect and attack.
How similar studies have performed: Early lab studies and analyses of patient tumors suggest DNA-PK inhibition can raise antigen levels and relate to increased immune cell infiltration, but clear clinical benefits have not yet been demonstrated.
Where this research is happening
Aurora, UNITED STATES
- University of Colorado Denver — Aurora, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Davila, Eduardo V — University of Colorado Denver
- Study coordinator: Davila, Eduardo V
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 below.