City of Hope Immunotherapy Research

October 24, 2024

This page was reviewed under our medical and editorial policy by Alexis Boling, MSN-RN, CNML, director, nursing, Immune Effector Cell & Gene Therapy Program, City of Hope^® Cancer Center Duarte

One major benefit for patients who choose City of Hope is the clinical research center’s leading role in driving innovations to help the immune system fight cancer. These types of treatments are known as immunotherapy.

City of Hope is a world leader in developing breakthrough immunotherapy (immuno-oncology) treatments such as chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy, one of the most promising approaches to fighting cancer.

These innovations are possible because of the deep dedication that City of Hope scientists have to discovering improved ways to target and destroy cancer cells through:

• Research into each of the immunotherapy areas to ensure a holistic approach to cancer treatment
• Clinical trials to discover the effectiveness of new immune system interventions, including therapies for certain types of leukemia, as well as spinal cord and brain tumors
• Professional collaboration with other leading cancer research institutions and biopharma companies to improve immunotherapy treatment outcomes
• A world-class reputation that enables City of Hope to secure more immunotherapy research grants from top organizations in the field

Immunotherapy Clinical Trials and Research

City of Hope’s Department of Immuno-Oncology is leading the way in immunotherapy initiatives through several key research areas that have expanded the treatment options available to patients, including those listed below.

Cellular immunotherapy: T cells are key immune system cells that help a person fight infections and cancer. In cellular immunotherapy, T cells are taken from the person’s body (or from a donor), altered in a lab to help them find and destroy cancer cells more effectively, and then returned to the patient. One of the most innovative and successful types of cellular immunotherapy is CAR T cell therapy, a treatment that City of Hope researchers have helped advance through dozens of clinical trials.

Tumor immunology: Tumors are abnormal masses of cancerous tissues that may grow and spread into other areas of a patient’s body. Tumor immunology seeks to understand why the immune system fails to stop tumors from developing and to develop treatments to address this. This helps to stop and potentially prevent cancer tumor growth. For example, researchers at City of Hope developed a chemotherapy that targeted and destroyed solid cancer tumors in preclinical trials based on an understanding of how a certain cancer cell protein resists the immune system.

Vaccine immunotherapy: Many people know vaccines are injections of a weakened form of a virus or bacteria that help prevent illness by priming the immune system to respond when exposed to these germs. In cancer vaccine immunotherapy, substances that destroy cancer cells are injected into the body. These injections are known as cancer vaccines. One such vaccine being tested by City of Hope researchers is the personalized DNA vaccine platform to help slow the growth of a precancerous blood disorder called lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma.

Radioimmunotherapy: Radiation therapy uses high-energy particles to help shrink cancerous tumors and destroy cancer cells. Radioimmunotherapy is a type of radiation therapy that links a protein created in a laboratory (called a monoclonal antibody) to a radioactive substance. These treatments, which are injected, may bind to cancer cells and destroy them. At City of Hope, clinical trials aim to develop more effective radioimmunotherapy treatments for several types of cancer, including breast, lung and colorectal cancers.

Molecular immunotherapy: Molecular immunotherapy research explores the broad set of genetic molecules that affect how a person’s immune system responds (or fails to respond) to cancer. This includes understanding changes in cancer cell DNA, RNA and proteins that inhibit or bypass normal immune system responses and developing treatments to combat these changes. City of Hope is at the forefront of developing new therapies to improve how these genetic changes are addressed and treated.

Lymphoma immunotherapy: Cancer that starts in the immune system is known as lymphoma, and it includes both Hodgkin lymphoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The City of Hope Lymphoma Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) encompasses immunotherapy research aimed at improving lymphoma outcomes and advancing therapies from lab studies to human clinical trials. The goal is to help ensure that breakthrough lymphoma immunotherapies reach patients more quickly.

City of Hope Milestones in Immunotherapy Research

City of Hope is a national leader in cancer immunotherapy research. Milestones include a broad range of initiatives, clinical trials, investigative grants and nationally recognized programs. City of Hope is:

• One of four U.S. National Cancer Institute’s Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPOREs) that focus on lymphoma prevention, early detection and treatment
• A recipient of a U.S. National Cancer Institute grant to support clinical trials evaluating radioimmunotherapy for breast, lung and colorectal cancers
• Among the first U.S. institutions to use cellular immunotherapy (genetically re-engineered T cell therapy) to treat brain cancers, lymphoma and childhood neuroblastoma (cancer that develops in immature nerve cells)
• A clinical trial pioneer in CAR T cell therapy for glioblastoma (a fast-growing tumor of the central nervous system) and acute myeloid leukemia (a fast-growing cancer of the bone marrow and blood)
• The only institution with four clinical trials authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration using genetically reprogrammed T cells
• A recipient of several multimillion-dollar grants to explore CAR T cell therapy in conditions such as leukemia, lymphoma, breast cancer and multiple myeloma (cancer that begins in plasma cells)
• Home to one of the largest freestanding biologic production facilities in the United States, which makes substances from living organisms (biologics) for clinical trials, allowing for more timely testing than would be possible through pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporations
• A scientific collaborator with other leading cancer research institutions, including Baylor University, Memorial Sloan-Kettering, Mayo Clinic, University of Pennsylvania, Johns Hopkins University and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center