Grant: CIHR - ICR / Cancer Research Society Partnership - Research Grants

Currently approved immunotherapies only work in a small fraction of lung cancer (LC) patients, highlighting the need to develop additional ones to benefit more patients. We propose to develop an innovative approach for delivering a new type of immunotherapy that targets a protein called CD47. Drugs targeting CD47 are being evaluated in clinical trials but more research is needed to find ways of making them work effectively in LC. Our research will establish a new method of delivering CD47 inhibitors specifically to tumor cells using ultrasound and microbubbles, which are routinely used for medical imaging in people. Our work will guide the clinical development of this exciting new immunotherapy by providing a means to enhance its effectiveness and reduce its toxicity in LC patients.