Investigating the Role of Nitric Oxide in the Immune Regulation of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
Abstract
Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer deaths globally, causing over 1.8 million deaths worldwide per year (Siegel et al., Cancer Statistics 2022). In the United States, lung cancer is estimated to cause 130,180 deaths in 2022, and 236,740 new cases will be diagnosed in the same year (SEER database). In the last 10 years, immunotherapy – a type of cancer treatment that activates the immune system against cancer cells – has become the first therapeutic approach for lung cancer patients. While it has improved outcomes for lung cancer patients, only 20% of patients respond to these treatments demonstrating the dire need for increasing the visibility of tumor cells to the immune system. Tumor cells accumulate changes that allow them to multiply in an uncontrolled manner. Yet these changes also result in the presentation of tags on their cell surface, making them visible to the immune system as non-self cells to be destroyed. Significant research efforts are ongoing to identify tumor tags for developing cancer vaccines or therapies. Our proposal takes an innovative approach to identify specific characteristics in these tags, which are induced by enzymes activated in tumor cells upon exposure to toxic fumes. We will then determine how these characteristics impact the visibility of tumor cells to the immune system. This new knowledge will constitute preliminary data for the scientific and medical community to explore novel ways to improve response to immunotherapy. It will accelerate the discovery of new therapeutic targets for lung cancer, leading to the development of novel therapies in the long term. A large contributor to lung cancer is the constant exposure to air pollutants during the deployment of military personnel, such as diesel exhaust, sandstorms, firearms fumes, and smoke from burn pits. Inhalation of combustion fumes alters the expression of different metabolic enzymes. Our proposal will address the role of these enzymes in regulating the visibility of tumor cells to the immune system, addressing an issue of huge importance to military personnel exposed to combustion fumes.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jan 04, 2024
- Source ID
- HT94252310099
Entities
People
- Marie-liesse Asselin-labat
Organizations
- United States Army
- WEHI