Teaching the Immune System to Fight KRAS-Driven Cancers
Program the Immune System against RAS-driven Cancer
This project aims to create smart, engineered molecules that can train your body's immune system to find and destroy tough-to-treat cancers like pancreatic cancer.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Stanford University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Stanford, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11109498 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
Many cancers, especially pancreatic cancer, are very challenging to treat because they have specific genetic changes, like those in the KRAS gene, that are hard for current medicines to target. This innovative approach seeks to develop "circuits" – tiny, engineered biological tools that can work inside your cells. These circuits are designed to act like a smart system, both identifying cancer cells and then activating your immune system to fight them. This process mimics the "abscopal effect," where treating one tumor can cause distant, untreated tumors to shrink, suggesting the immune system has learned to recognize the cancer. This could lead to a new way for your own body to fight cancer more effectively.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Patients with difficult-to-treat cancers, especially pancreatic cancer driven by KRAS mutations, could potentially benefit from future therapies developed from this work.
Not a fit: Patients whose cancers are not driven by KRAS mutations or who have immune systems unable to be programmed in this manner may not receive direct benefit from this specific approach.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this new approach could offer a powerful way to treat aggressive cancers, particularly those with KRAS mutations, by harnessing the body's own immune defenses.
How similar studies have performed: This project proposes a novel "circuit" approach to program the immune system, building on the observed but not fully understood "abscopal effect" and the growing field of immunotherapy.
Where this research is happening
Stanford, United States
- Stanford University — Stanford, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Gao, Xiaojing J — Stanford University
- Study coordinator: Gao, Xiaojing J
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.