Grant: Collaborative Health Research Projects

Cervical cancer is the most common type of cancer which affects younger women. This study investigates the developmentof a less invasive treatment for the disease. Rather than using the present standard-of-care which consists of surgeryfollowed by chemo- and/or radiation therapy, Dr. Zehbe's team proposes to use a molecule that specifically targets thecausative agent of cervical cancer itself.Human papilloamvirus (HPV) is a common sexually transmitted virus which is now known to be responsible for almost allcases of cervical cancer. HPV produces proteins that can make cells malignant. One of them, called E6 protein, is ourtreatment target. This ""anti-E6 molecule"" approach will not cause the undesirable side effects associated with the currentchemo-/radiation-therapy because it will selectively kill only cancerous cells, leaving healthy cells intact.Ultrasound, widely used already for imaging and therapeutic purposes, will be applied to help deliver the anti-E6 moleculesdirectly inside the tumour, ensuring that these molecules get inside the cells and reach all parts of the tumour equally.Therefore, with our project we will address three objectives: 1) to prepare the anti-E6 molecules for safe and non-toxicdelivery, 2) to pre-test these in the laboratory in cells and 3) to use an animal model to analyze the efficacy of anti-E6molecules in a living host.Our team combines complementary knowledge in tumour biology, biochemistry, microbiology, immunology, oncology andimaging-guided therapy. Scientists and clinicians will work together in an interdisciplinary manner to successfully obtainresults that can be translated to patient care, thus reducing the morbidity of cervical cancer treatment considerably.