Federal Project Grant Award Summary

Mayo Clinic received a $651,290 Project Grant award from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) under the Cancer Treatment Research program (CFDA 93.395), effective August 1, 2026 through July 31, 2031. The grant supports fundamental and applied research to identify and characterize B7-H3-mediated immune evasion mechanisms in cancer. Specifically, the research aims to identify the immune inhibitory receptor(s) that bind to B7-H3, a protein overexpressed on many tumor types that suppresses anti-tumor T cell responses. This work addresses a significant gap in cancer immunotherapy development, as the identity of B7-H3's inhibitory receptors has remained unknown despite the protein's discovery two decades ago, thereby impeding the development of effective B7-H3-targeted therapeutics and limiting the clinical efficacy of existing B7-H3 blocking antibodies.

The research will investigate Siglecs (sialic acid binding immunoglobulin-like lectins)—a family of transmembrane proteins expressed on immune cells that contain inhibitory motifs—as potential B7-H3 receptors. By elucidating the B7-H3/inhibitory receptor interaction pathway, this project will provide critical foundational knowledge to support the design of novel immunotherapies that disrupt immune evasion mechanisms and enhance anti-tumor immune responses in patients whose cancers do not respond to existing checkpoint blockade approaches targeting PD-1/PD-L1 or CTLA-4 pathways.