Signalling networks as targets for antibody therapy in glioma.

Funded Activity Summary

Antibodies are a major component of the bodies immune system that bind (i.e. stick) to foreign substances such as viruses. Once bound, these antibodies can activate other parts of the immune system, which help destroy the foreign substance. Analogous to the situation above, a number of institutions are testing antibodies that bind to cancer cells, in order to determine if they are able to destroy these cells. It is also possible to generate antibodies that bind to receptors on the surface of cancer cells and block their function. If you target a receptor critical to the growth or survival of a cancer cell in this way, then swtiching-off this signal may inhibit tumor growth. In this proposal we plan to test a panel antibodies that recognize receptors important to the growth of brain cancer. Two of these antibodies have been generated and the other two will be made as part of this proposal. A key aspect of this proposal will be testing these antibodies in combination to determine how many receptors need to be targeted in order to get complete tumor regressions in animal models. Overall this work will help us identify new therapeutic strategies for the treatment of brain cancer. Finally, we will also analyze the way different receptors interact together in brain cancer cells.

Funded Activity Details

Start Date: 01-01-2007

End Date: 01-01-2009

Funding Scheme: NHMRC Project Grants

Funding Amount: $526,683.00

Funder: National Health and Medical Research Council

Research Topics

ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)

Oncology and Carcinogenesis

ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)

There are no SEO codes available for this funding activity

Other Keywords

EGF/EGFR signalling | antibody cancer therapy | antibody therapy | cell signalling | epidermal growth factor receptor | glioblastoma | glioma | tyrosine kinase receptors

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