Grant: Master's Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in Canadian men and can progress into an advanced form for which no curative treatments exist. Advanced PCa is associated with genetic alterations such as the loss of the cellular growth antagonizing tumor suppressor PTEN. Exciting new research has shown that PTEN has a role in stimulating the innate immune response by positively influencing Type I Interferon (IFN) pathways. Activation of this antiviral group of cytokines can influence the tumor immune microenvironment and recruit cancer-destroying immune cells to the tumor for cytotoxic tumor killing. However, the precise context and factors affecting the activation of this signaling cascade by PTEN have not been characterized in PCa. Thus, we intend to elucidate the associations between PTEN and Type I IFN in PCa using multiple established and novel experimental assays. We will determine the Type I IFN response in human PCa cells with altered PTEN status and create a PTEN knockout model system to investigate the resultant effects on the Type I IFN response. Our results will allow us to gain new insights into PTEN's role in modulating the IFN response in PCa and its contribution to altering the associated tumor landscape. This knowledge will allow for the development and deployment of improved combinatorial treatment approaches and novel immunotherapies for advanced PCa. By achieving these goals we intend to significantly contribute to our understanding of the anti-tumor immune responses in PCa, thereby increasing our capacity to personalize cancer treatments and ultimately improving human health.