Avon Breast Cancer Immunotherapy Research Initiative

The Avon Foundation's gift to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and University of Washington for the Breast Cancer Immunotherapy Research Initiative brings together the University of Washington, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and Johns Hopkins University (JHU) scientists with expertise in the development of cancer vaccines and gene therapy; antigen discovery, celluar adaptive immunotherapy and immune evasion mechanisms; and immune based therapies for breast cancer using transgenic mouse models. This unique commitment between institutions and investigators to share reagents, ideas, and research results will facilitate achieving a common goal to identify and overcome limitations to immune mediated eradication of breast cancer.

This initiative provides the foundation for future applications from traditional sources of funding from the National Cancer Institute to pursue research in breast cancer immunotherapy and assists in developing the infrastructure critical for pilot clinical trials of novel immunotherapeutic approaches.

The Avon gift is supporting the following areas of research at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and University of Washington:

• Three developmental research projects utilizing novel approaches to understanding the immunobiology of breast cancer and investigating strategies for inducing effective tumor-specific immunity.
  
  
  • Project 1: Multi-antigen vaccines for breast cancer prevention, Drs. M.L. Disis and David Mankoff, University of Washington.
    This research investigates the development of polyvalent vaccines for prevention of breast cancer relapse.
    
    
  • Project 2: Adenovirus vectors for immunotherapy of breast cancer, Dr. Andre Lieber, University of Washington. This project examines the use of a novel adenovirus vector to express Her-2/neu in dendritic cells as a strategy for eliciting Her-2-specific immunity in vitro and in vivo through preclinical and animal model studies.
    
    
  • Project 3: T-cell targeting and immune evasion in breast cancer, Drs. Thomas Spies and Stanley Riddell, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
    This project looks at the role of cell stress MIC proteins in breast cancer biology and immunologic recognition.
  
  
• A research fellowship in breast cancer immunotherapy will provide training for highly qualified young investigators in tumor immunology and translational research.
  
  
• Funding to enhance essential existing infrastructure. This funding strengthens the collective research efforts of scientists engaged in the development of immunotherapeutic approaches for breast cancer and includes:
  
  
  • Immune Monitoring Lab
    Develops reagents, isolates tumor-reactive T-cell populations, and provides quantitative and qualitative analysis of T-cells elicited in response to vaccination.
    
    
  • GMP Cellular Therapy Laboratory
    Produces specialized tumor-reactive T-cells or gene-modified cells for use in clinical adoptive immunotherapy or vaccination.
  
  
• Inter-institutional collaboration. Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and University of Washington in Seattle and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore have strong research programs in breast cancer immunotherapy. Avon funding supports the development of Web-based data management systems to ensure a bidirectional flow of research data and information between these groups to create synergistic and complementary research efforts. The Seattle and Baltimore groups meet formally once each year to discuss research results, formulate collaborative projects, and share reagents and resources.

	Avon Breast Cancer Immunotherapy Research Initiative