Advances in cancer immunotherapy, a promising new area in cancer treatment that harnesses the body’s immune system or natural defenses to destroy cancer cells, are being led by Nina Bhardwaj, MD, PhD, Director of Immunotherapy, and Professor of Medicine (Hematology and Medical Oncology), at The Tisch Cancer Institute.
In clinical studies, Dr. Bhardwaj and her team are exploring multiple approaches to immunotherapy, from intratumoral injections to the development of personalized vaccines used in combination with traditional treatments such as surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy.
“Combining different immunotherapy strategies is an exciting new area of clinical research,” says Dr. Bhardwaj. “Mount Sinai has the best basic scientists and clinicians and we are fortunate to have assembled an integrated and collaborative immunotherapy group.”
Using immunotherapy to treat cancer has become increasingly viable within the past two years, due to the identification of an immune checkpoint blockade that enables the human body to unleash a powerful anticancer response without being restrained by the cancerous tumors. This discovery, the most significant advance in cancer treatment in almost 40 years, is transforming human cancer therapeutics.
Indeed, The Tisch Cancer Institute, working in collaboration with researchers led by Eric E. Schadt, PhD, Director of the Icahn Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology, Chair of the Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, and the Jean C. and James W. Crystal Professor of Genomics is one of a handful of U.S. medical institutions currently pursuing personalized vaccines.
In a unique proof-of-concept study that is set to begin this fall, Dr. Bhardwaj’s team will explore the feasibility of developing personalized vaccines for patients with multiple solid tumors. Using the supercomputing capabilities housed within the Icahn Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology and the Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Mount Sinai scientists will sequence a patient’s tumor and identify its mutations. Then, they will use the tumor antigens produced by the mutations to create a vaccine specific to the patient. Personalized vaccines that originate within the patient’s body are believed to carry less toxicity and be well-tolerated by the patient.
“We are going to test whether it’s feasible to sequence the tumor, find the mutation, make the antigen, and immunize the patient,” says Dr. Bhardwaj.
In related work, Dr. Bhardwaj and team member Joshua Brody, MD, Director of the Lymphoma Immunotherapy Program at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, are using approaches to modify the tumor microenvironment with immune modulatory agents. Dr. Brody has had success in using two immune-modifying medications that are administered directly into a tumor in combination with low-dose radiotherapy. The treatment works by priming the patient’s immune system to kill the lymphoma. Patients have reported fewer side effects with these intratumoral injections than with conventional therapies.