SBIR CONCEPT AWARD FOR DEVELOPMENT OF THERAPEUTIC OR PREVENTATIVE TECHNOLOGIES FOR TREATMENT OR PREVENTION OF PEDIATRIC CANCERS AND/OR RARE CANCERS

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), is a rare type of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. NPC is often diagnosedin the later stages of progression with a 10-15% recurrence rate and only a 5-year survival rate of 49%. New targeted therapies are urgently needed. Toripalimab, an anti-PD-1 antibody, was recently approved for NPC, but many patients respond poorly. This suggests a lack of sufficient tumor-specific T cells for Toripalimab to act on. We hypothesize a personalized vaccine prepared using autologous tumor membrane vesicles (TMVs) and our biological adjuvants to induce de novo anti-tumor T cells, preventing metastatic spread and recurrence alone or in combination with anti-PD-1 antibody. Since the majority of NPC tumors are Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) positive, we will transfect murine squamous cell carcinoma cell line SCCVII with EBV antigens to develop an NPC model system. Our innovative approach using personalized cancer vaccine with biological adjuvants in a prime-boost approach with TMV vaccine followed by mRNA vaccine encoding neoantigens and EBV antigens boost will evaluate this hypothesis. We will determine the therapeutic efficacy and anti-tumor responses using the above model and vaccines in mice. These studies will form a foundation for developing this personalized approach for NPC patients.