Project 457478

Lung cancer is the greatest cause of cancer-related death worldwide, accounting for about 25% of all cancer-related fatalities. Indeed, more people die from lung cancer than breast, colon and pancreatic cancer combined. Non-small cell lung cancer, a subtype of lung cancer, accounts for 85% of all cases and exhibits poor response to conventional cancer therapies. New treatments called immunotherapies activate the immune system and have led to impressive results in a subset of patients as they enable the body to improve its ability to fight cancer. Unfortunately, this treatment only works for a very small proportion of patients, with most patients not responding at all. Therefore, it is critical to identify new treatments that can improve the effects of immunotherapy so more lung cancer patients can benefit from its effects. I have shown that injection of a protein that causes immune cells to migrate can enhance the effects of immunotherapy and cause tumour shrinkage in a mouse model of lung cancer. I will investigate the changes that occur in these migrating immune cells in response to the combination of this protein and immunotherapy. I will study the effects of this combination treatment in lung cancer patients by using a new cutting-edge technology called imaging mass cytometry. This technology allows researchers to comprehensively characterize the immune cells located within and adjacent to the tumour. Imaging mass cytometry identifies novel characteristics of these immune cells by visualizing them with up to 50 simultaneous markers, significantly more than was previously possible. My goal will be to use mouse models and this novel technology to help identify how higher levels of this protein cause an improved response to immunotherapy. This research has the potential to identify novel therapeutic strategies that can be combined with immunotherapy to improve the outcomes of lung cancer patients.