# Molecular targeted radiotherapy to overcome resistance to in situ cancer vaccination

> **NIH NIH F30** · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · 2021 · $23,065

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
 In 2016 there were 600,000 cancer-related deaths in the United States, with an estimated total cost of $130
billion. Given the aging population in the US, the incidence of cancer is expected to rise. Development of
effective, widely applicable therapies for all cancers is of utmost importance. The Sondel group at the
University of Wisconsin-Madison, with collaboration from many other talented researchers, has developed an
immunotherapy that seeks to transform a tumor into a site of in situ vaccination. Using a combination of
external beam radiation and a tumor-reactive fusion protein called an immunocytokine (an anti-tumor
monoclonal antibody fused to the cytokine interleukin-2) injected into the tumor, our group has demonstrated
effective recruitment of both innate and adaptive immune effector cells capable of clearing tumors in murine
models of melanoma, neuroblastoma, and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. These mice reject
establishment of additional tumors, demonstrating memory response indicative of a vaccine effect.
 Despite a subset of treated mice experiencing complete response to this treatment, complete response is
not universal. Preliminary studies of our in situ vaccine in mice with multiple tumors have shown that the
presence of an untreated, distant tumor antagonizes development of an antitumor immune response at the
treated tumor. This phenomenon, which we have termed “concomitant immune tolerance (CIT),” is tumor-
specific and is mediated, at least in part, by immune suppressive populations such as T regulatory cells.
Importantly, preliminary work has established that additional low-dose external beam radiation delivered to
distant tumor sites can reduce or eliminate CIT. We hypothesize that CIT is mediated by immune suppressive
cells including Tregs derived from distant established tumor microenvironments, and that low-dose radiation can
be used for immunomodulatory purposes to prime the system to be responsive to in situ vaccination. The goal
of this proposal is to test this hypothesized mechanism for CIT, as well as develop a treatment approach that
will overcome CIT and improve our in situ vaccine. This proposal will build on the expertise of the Sondel and
Morris labs to probe the mechanism of CIT. In Aim 1, the impact of distant tumor size and location on the
development of CIT will be determined. Immune changes in the tumor microenvironment of mice exhibiting CIT
will be quantified, and connected to our hypothesized CIT mechanism. This will be accomplished using flow
cytometry and ex vivo stimulation assays. Aim 2 seeks to establish a novel means of delivering low-dose
molecular targeted radiotherapy to all sites of disease, with the goal of eliminating tumor-specific immune
populations and generating a more potent systemic immune response to in situ vaccination. Achievement of
these aims will provide insight into how these murine cancers avoid and escape immune destruction, how
immune escape ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10062892
- **Project number:** 5F30CA228315-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON
- **Principal Investigator:** peter m carlson
- **Activity code:** F30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $23,065
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-12-07 → 2021-05-07

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10062892

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10062892, Molecular targeted radiotherapy to overcome resistance to in situ cancer vaccination (5F30CA228315-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10062892. Licensed CC0.

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