$1M grant continues research for potential cancer treatment

UCLA scientists recently received a $1 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to continue research on a new potential treatment for lung cancer.

The treatment, developed by Leonard Rome and Dr. Steven Dubinett, uses nanoparticles called vaults to transport CCL21, a cancer immunotherapy agent, to tumors, according to a UCLA press release.

Rome is the associate director of the California NanoSystems Institute, and Dubinett is the director of the UCLA Clinical and Translational Science Institute.

The research is considered innovative because it could improve treatment for cancer patients, who often must undergo chemotherapy, by allowing them to undergo cancer immunotherapy instead.

Immunotherapy would allow healthy cells to remain intact during treatment while cancerous cells are attacked, unlike chemotherapy, which causes numerous harmful side effects to the human body.

“Fifteen years ago, our discovery of how to reconstruct vaults as therapeutic nanocapsules completely changed the direction of my laboratory,” Rome said in the press release. “Since then, we have been working tirelessly to bring vault drug delivery technology to medical practice. We have many vault nanoparticle therapeutics in development, but the CCL21-vault is the first medicine that will reach clinical trials.”

Scientists plan to begin human trials in the future and to collaborate with a startup company, Vault Nano, and the Protein Sciences Corporation to complete a safety evaluation.

The program that dispersed the grant is one of the largest of its kind in the country to support early-stage technology.

Compiled by Sam Hoff, Bruin senior staff.

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