# PVSRIPO in melanoma

> **NIH NIH K08** · DUKE UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $166,997

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
This proposal presents a five-year research career development program focused on the translation of oncolytic
modified poliovirus (PVSRIPO) into a novel treatment for patients with advanced melanoma. The candidate is
currently an Assistant Professor of Surgery at Duke University. The candidate has previous research and clinical
experience in the management of patients with advanced melanoma and has now chosen to focus on
immunology-driven approaches with a mentor who is an accomplished immunologist, Smita Nair, PhD. The
proposed experiments and didactic work will provide the candidate with a unique set of immunologic and
laboratory skills that will enable her transition to independence as a physician scientist in the field of melanoma
therapeutics.
Melanoma has been dramatically increasing in incidence for the last 30 years and is the most common fatal skin
malignancy. Programmed death protein 1 (PD-1) antagonists represent important recent advances in the care
of patients with metastatic melanoma. However, 60% of patients fail to respond to PD-1 therapy and late
resistance remains a problem. Oncolytic virotherapy has emerged as a promising treatment for advanced
melanoma due to its ability to elicit anti-neoplastic effects stemming from combined direct viral cytotoxicity and
innate antiviral activation. PVSRIPO, the live attenuated, serotype 1 poliovirus vaccine that was genetically
modified to eliminate its neurovirulence, has shown unprecedented long-term survival in 20% of recurrent
glioblastoma multiforme patients, otherwise a nearly uniformly fatal disease. Further development of PVSRIPO
as treatment for advanced melanoma will fulfill a clinical need for more effective therapies for these patients.
More specifically, the aims of this proposal are: 1) investigate PVSRIPO induced immune bioactivity in melanoma
tumor tissue obtained from a Phase I trial of patients with advanced melanoma, 2) determine the efficacy of
mouse PVSRIPO treatment, in conjunction with PD-1/PD-L1 blockade, on tumor growth in vivo, 3) determine
PVSRIPO-mediated immune activation in vitro in a tumor explant model. The scientific objectives of this proposal
are to 1) define how PVSRIPO treatment facilitates engagement of anti-tumor immune responses and 2) to
determine if administration of mouse PVSRIPO with concurrent PD-1/PD-L1 antagonists will eliminate adaptive
resistance and potentiate durable-anti-tumor responses.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10132265
- **Project number:** 5K08CA237726-02
- **Recipient organization:** DUKE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Georgia Beasley
- **Activity code:** K08 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $166,997
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-04-01 → 2025-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10132265

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10132265, PVSRIPO in melanoma (5K08CA237726-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10132265. Licensed CC0.

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