Site-Specific Immunomodulators (SSIs) are novel immunotherapies for cancer

• Published in: The Journal of immunology (1950) 2016-05, Vol.196 (1_Supplement), p.214-214.20
• Main Authors: Zhang, Monan Angela, Bosiljcic, Momir, Kalyan, Shirin, Anderson, Rebecca, Bazett, Mark, Luk, Beryl, Wong, Natalie, Mullins, David W, Gunn, Hal
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0022-1767; 1550-6606
• DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.196.Supp.214.20

The immune system recognizes and eliminates malignant cells, and maintains an intricate balance between immune activation and cancer. Historically, spontaneous tumor regression has been observed in some patients experiencing acute microbial infections. Building upon this, it was discovered that repeated subcutaneous injection of novel immunotherapies called Site-Specific Immunomodulators (SSIs), derived from killed bacteria known to cause infection in a particular organ or tissue, may be effective at treating cancer growing in the same site. We hypothesize that SSIs stimulate the body’s immune system to reverse immune suppression and dysfunction in the tumor microenvironment, enabling effective anti-cancer immune responses. To test this hypothesis, we evaluated the efficacy of a lung-specific SSI, QBKPN, in preclinical lung cancer models. Repeated subcutaneous administration of QBKPN significantly reduced lung tumor burden at day 16 post-inoculation (p