Page 22 - The Hormel Institute 2024 Annual Report

22 | THE HORMEL INSTITUTE
// UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
Our lab was the recipient of a five-year, nearly $2,500,000 grant from the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes
of Health. The grant was awarded for five years to support a preclinical study aimed at develop- ing a novel adeno-associated virus (AAV) cancer vaccine strategy for oral melanoma, which could benefit the health of humans and canines alike.
This AAV-based vaccine, which has been devel- oped over the last decade in our lab, is designed to target the immune system’s dendritic cells that will eventually train T cells to identify and kill cancerous cells over the short and long term— without harmful side effects to other cells and tissues. The study, which is in collaboration with the Veterinary Clinical Investigation Center at University of Minnesota, will investigate the efficacy of an AAV-based vaccine to supplement existing treatments for dogs with oral melanoma
in order to limit metastatic spread and cancer recurrence.
If the vaccine is proven to be effective, it will open new opportunities to treat cancer patients. It might also help to limit some of the anxiety and fears the patient may have in the long term. Secondly, it could dramatically reduce side effects often caused by common treatments such as chemotherapy, because it is based on the natural activation of the immune system. Importantly, similar approaches can be applied to any other type of malignancies when case appropriate targets on cancer cells are identified.
The successful completion of the study will establish a strong foundation for an Investigational New Drug application for authorization from the Food and Drug Administration and initiation of human clinical trials.
Aslanidi Lab meeting with Cockayne Syndrome patient family.