Research focus
Target identification for novel molecular therapies in NET tumors.
Using the methodology of "shRNA screening", we identify molecular therapy targets previously unknown for NET tumors; on this basis, novel molecular agents for NET-specific targets are specifically developed and clinically tested.
Basic research on immunotherapy and virotherapy of neuroendocrine tumors.
Using neuroendocrine tumor cells, we were able to show that the virotherapeutic agent IMLYGIC® (talimogene laherparepvec/T-VEC), which has already been clinically approved for malignant skin tumors (malignant melanoma), and Poken vaccinia viruses (so-called. Vaccinia viruses) can also effectively target NET tumor cells:
- Kloker LD, Berchtold S, Smirnow I, Schaller M, Fehrenbacher B, Krieg A, Sipos B, Lauer UM. The oncolytic herpes simplex virus T-VEC shows promising efficacy in neuroendocrine cancer cell lines.Neuroendocrinology 2019,109:346-361.
- Kloker LD, Berchtold S, Smirnov I, Beil J, Krieg A, Sipos B, Lauer UM. Oncolytic vaccinia virus GLV-1h68 exhibits profound antitumoral activities in cell lines originating from neuroendocrine neoplasms. BMC Cancer 2020, Jul 6;20(1):628.
On this basis, further research is currently being conducted on corresponding NET animal models (in collaboration of the Virotherapie Zentrum Tübignen (VCT) with the Werner-Siemens-Imaging-Center (WSIC) Tübingen):
- Dimitri Stowbur, Barbara F. Schörg, Susanne Berchthold, Julia Beil, Dominik Sonanini, Ulrich M. Lauer, Bernd Pichler, Manfred Kneilling.
The aim of this basic research is to test novel approaches for immunotherapy and virotherapy of neuroendocrine tumors until they are ready for clinical use.
Clinical trials for NET tumor therapy
Together with our partner university in Uppsala, Sweden, we are currently working on making a clinical study on virotherapy of NET, which is already running in Sweden under the direction of Prof. Magnus Essand, Dr. Dr. Joakim Crona and Prof. Kjell Öberg, also available to NET patients in Germany:
- Study Title: "Study of recombinant adenovirus AdVince in patients with neuroendocrine tumors"; ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02749331.
This study is substantially supported by the Victory NET Foundation, Geneva, Switzerland(https://www.victorynet.org/de/), which provides important support to all NET patients (among other things, the NET manual of this foundation is available online here(https://www.victorynet.org/de/net-handbuch/), which is very instructive).
