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Project

NKT cells as a target for treatment in Multiple Myeloma (FWOAL636)

Multiple myeloma (MM) is an incurable blood cancer with cancer cells developing a tumor in the bone marrow (BM). The BM is a site where the MM cells can thrive as all the necessary nutrients for their exponential growth are present. MM is still fatal as patients relapse due to the cancer cells developing resistance against all the currently known therapy. A relatively new field in cancer therapy is immune therapy, where the immune cells of the patient itself are used to target the tumor. There are several effector cells of the immune system present in the BM, however they are mostly functionally impaired. We will study a subtype of this system namely the natural killer (NKT) cells and investigate how we can improve their functionality by using the immunomodulatory drug lenalidomide. In this way, we hope to reactivate the cells to target the MM cells. This project should enhance our understanding of the disfunctionality of the immune system in MM and provide new targets for treatment.
Date:1 Jan 2012 →  31 Dec 2014
Keywords:Stem Cell, Blood, Coagulation, Myeloma, Immunology, Microbiology, HLA, Hematology, Lymphoma, cancer, Bone Marrow Transplantation
Disciplines:Basic sciences, Biological sciences