The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania, doing business as the Clinical Practices of the University of Pennsylvania, has been awarded a $667,533 federal Project Grant (CFDA 93.395 - Cancer Treatment Research) by the National Cancer Institute. This 5-year grant will fund research to optimize the combination of radiation therapy, chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy, and gut microbiome modulation for the treatment of lymphoma.
The research aims to build upon the research team's previous groundbreaking findings on the synergistic antitumor effects achieved by combining oral vancomycin with radiation therapy or CAR-T therapy. The proposed work will involve a randomized pilot clinical trial in lymphoma patients to evaluate the feasibility, toxicity, and efficacy of the combined RT, CAR-T, and microbiome modulation approach. The comprehensive study will also examine the underlying mechanisms by which vancomycin-mediated gut microbiome modulation augments the antitumor effects of the combination therapy.