The Susan and John Freeman Research Grant: A new approach to boosting resistance to fungal infection in cancer patients
Background
Fungal infections that invade the body occur in up to 10% of cancer patients who have had a blood stem cell transplant (a transplant of immature cells that will grow to form new blood cells.)
Even with treatment, these fungal infections often kill because the body’s immune system is weak for up to 12 months after a transplant. The death rate is around 40-100%.
On top of the distress to patients and families, managing and treating fungal infections in cancer patients is very costly and drug resistance is emerging.
The research
This project focuses on boosting immunity to fungal infections by generating immune cells called lymphocytes that are able to specifically fight a range of relevant yeast and mould infections.
These immune cells will be created, preserved by freezing, and then given to patients, along with anti-fungal drugs, immediately after a serious fungal infection is diagnosed and outcomes monitored.
This is the first trial of this type ever performed in humans to treat invasive fungal disease.
The impact
If the proposed trial shows some improvement in the progress of fungal infections, the next step would be a randomised trial.
Cryopreserved banks of immune cells that fight viruses have already been shown to be highly effective and are currently being developed commercially by pharmaceutical companies. It is hoped this work might ultimately lead to similar products being developed for fungal infections.
This could reduce the duration, cost and complications of fungal infections, with a significant reduction in human suffering.