Radiation and the Tumor Microenvironment in an Immunocompetent Model of Ewing Sarcoma
Ewing sarcoma is an aggressive cancer usually diagnosed in teenagers. When this cancer advances and spreads to other parts of the body (metastasizes), it is very difficult to cure. Patients with metastatic Ewing sarcoma often receive radiation to help treat the cancer. During radiation therapy, the body?s immune system can help attack cancer cells. However, sometime this effect is suppressed. We are working to understand immune cell suppression during radiation with the hope that by reactivating the immune system, we can improve treatment response. Our goal is to improve the lives and outcomes of patients with metastatic Ewing sarcoma.
Project Goal:
The goal of this project is to improve survival for patients with aggressive Ewing sarcoma. We hope to gather data that will help design clinical trials for patients with aggressive Ewing sarcoma that are undergoing radiation therapy. We are especially interested in therapies that help a patient's own immune system to attack their tumors following radiation.
Project Update 2024:
Ewing sarcoma that is metastatic or recurs after therapy remains very difficult to cure. Our focus is on studying how to improve the efficacy of radiation therapy, a treatment commonly used for patients with metastatic or relapsed Ewing sarcoma. We specifically focus on improving the immune attack of tumors following radiation by targeting a protein that can block anti-tumor immune attack. We have found that when this protein, TGFB, is blocked during radiation there are more immune cells that enter the tumor. These findings suggest that blocking TGFB may allow radiation to be more effective. We are now doing experiments to determine how collagens, proteins present in the tumor support structures, can effect immune system attack of Ewing tumors as well as the ability of Ewing tumors to spread.
