Cancer Immunology Research Division

The Cancer Immunology Research Division of the Center is engaged in breakthrough basic and applied research, and provides services aimed at studying hematopoietic cells, stem cells, tumor cells and immune system cells outside the body in an optimized and stable microenvironment for long periods of time without a risk of their damage, as well as studying immunobiological disorders in cancer patients and correcting the immune system of cancer patients. The Division vigorously pursues research into the most groundbreaking areas of oncology, such as studies of the tumor matrix and the behavior of cancer stem cells in hypoxic environments and under chemical, physical and targeted exposure, and develops technologies in relation to these areas.

The results of this research manifest themselves in personalized medicine – personalized cancer treatment regimes, personalized medications and cancer vaccines, phenotypic tests to study the behavior of cells in tumor microenvironments, etc.

The Division’s research activities are mainly focused on:

1. studying molecular genetic and immunobiological properties of tumor tissue, including metastases, using state-of-the-art equipment to develop groundbreaking technologies,
2. studying and developing biotechnological principles and technological solutions to create efficient and safe techniques of treating malignant neoplasms,
3. developing mathematical models, software and algorithms to assess antitumor immune response of patients with malignant neoplasms during the study of the efficacy of the new techniques of systemic treatment,
4. studying and modelling tumor microenvironments, the functions of stem cells, subpopulation of cells of the immune system, fibroblasts, epithelial cells, etc.,
5. studying immunobiological and metabolic homeostasis in patients with malignant neoplasms using cutting-edge high-tech equipment to develop new techniques of personalized medicine,
6. studying, developing and creating cell-based drugs possessing fundamentally new antitumor properties, drawing on the achievements in molecular genetics and cellular immunology.

Our main scientific achievements:

1. The Division has developed and introduced into clinical practice new high-tech methods for creating antitumor vaccines, and vaccines for the treatment of multiple sclerosis, and for assessing the clinical and laboratory efficacy of vaccine therapy.
2. The Division pays special attention to:
   • methodical specifics of obtaining primary cultures and cell lines of human malignant tumors,
   • immunologic and molecular biological characteristics,
   • methods for transfection of immunoreactive genes into tumor cells,
   • differentiation of antigen-specific bone marrow-derived dendritic cells,
   • creation of antigen-specific cytotoxic T-cell clones,
   • design of the dosage, regimen and techniques of vaccine therapy,
   • assessment of cellular and humoral postvaccinal (antigen-specific) immune response,
   • use of therapeutic vaccines in combination with immunologic adjuvants, low-doses of cytostatics, plasmapheresis and photodynamic therapy,

Since its establishment, the Division has:

• provided treatment to more than 500 patients with malignant neoplasms;
• validated and developed modern techniques of vaccine therapy,
• studied the impacts on individual components of the immune system and the clinical efficacy of vaccines based on bone marrow-derived dendritic cells, non-modified tumor cells with immunologic adjuvants and genetically modified tumor cells,
• assessed the toxicity and clinical efficacy of various techniques of vaccine therapy,
• identified indications and contra indications to various types of vaccine therapy,
• shown the role of modern vaccine therapy in the comprehensive treatment of skin melanoma and kidney cancer.

The specialists of the Division have proven that:

• vaccine therapy based on non-modified and genetically modified tumor cells and bone marrow-derived dendritic cells is an effective type of biotherapy that produces clinically significant antitumor effect in 46.2% of patients with common solid tumors (complete and partial response in 5.9%, minimal response and stabilized tumor growth in 40.2%),
• vaccine therapy is well tolerated by patients and has no severe local and overall toxic reactions, while grade I and II complications occur in 57.1% of patients,
• introduction of genetically modified vaccines and dendritic cell-based vaccines is accompanied by delayed hyperresponsiveness in 79% of patients, bystander effect in 10% of patients, immune response in vitro in 95% of patients, clinical response in 42% of patients and average survival time of 6 months,
• vaccine therapy with non-modified autologous tumor cells in combination with BCG or IL-1 immunologic adjuvants produces immune response in 90% of patients; however, objective tumor regression is achieved only in 5% of patients with average survival time of 6.4 months,
• subcutaneous administration of a dendritic cell-based vaccine has the advantage over its intravenous administration, as it does not have any prominent side effects and produces clinical response in 66.7% of patients with average survival time of 5 months,
• adjuvant vaccine therapy with non-modified tumor cells in patients with skin melanoma and kidney cancer associated with a high risk of tumor recurrence produces immune response in 98% of patients and allows to attain the median recurrence-free survival of 39.6 months,
• vaccine therapy has specific effect in 95% of patients in vitro. This may be due to an increase of the absolute count of cytotoxic CD3+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes (р<0.01), a decrease in the number of functionally deficient T lymphocytes (р<0.02), and the correction of the imbalance of immunoregulatory subpopulations of T lymphocytes (р<0.04).
• the use of standardized autologous vaccines based on mature peripheral dendritic cells as part of medical treatment and neoadjuvant treatment has demonstrated their safety (with isolated instances of grade 3 adverse effects, and no grade 4 adverse effects) and their clinical efficacy – objective response to the treatment observed in 5% of patients (95% confidence interval is 0-15%), stable disease in 32% of patients, median time to disease progression 72 days (95% confidence interval is 45-98%),
• the use of vaccines based on immature bone marrow-derived dendritic cells in conjunction with photodynamic therapy has produced the following results – objective response to the treatment observed in 15% of patients (95% confidence interval is 2-39%), stable disease in 39% of patients, median time to disease progression 108 days (95% confidence interval is 68-147), median time to disease progression when using adjuvant dendritic cell-based vaccine 402 days (95% confidence interval is 2-802).

Russian Federation Government Award in 2004

More than 400 research papers published in national and international journals

14 patents

1 doctor of sciences

7 candidates of sciences

1 new medical technology use authorization

New medical technology use authorization FS No.2010/390 dd October 26, 2020, issued to Federal State Budgetary Institution “National Medical Research center of Oncology named after N.N. Petrov” of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation “Immune therapy with dendritic cells from bone marrow precursors sensitized with photomodified tumor cells in vivo for patients with disseminated solid tumors”.

The Division is headed by Irina A. Baldueva, D.M.Sc.

Team of the Division:

Tatiana L. Nekhaeva, PhD in Medicine, senior researcher

Anna B. Danilova, PhD in Biology, senior researcher

Aleksey V. Novik, PhD in Medicine, senior researcher

Natalia A. Avdonkina, researcher

Dmitriy I. Vodolazhskiy, PhD in Biology, researcher

Vladislav S. Sergeev, PhD in Medicine, researcher

Nino P. Pipia, PhD in Medicine, researcher

Igor V. Kudryavtsev, PhD in Medicine, researcher

Marina L. Blokhina, junior researcher

Anton Yu. Zozulya, junior researcher

Tatiana A. Danilova, junior researcher

Natalia V. Emelyanova, research assistant

Olga V. Skachkova, research assistant

Elizaveta A. Prosekina, research assistant

Natalia L. Shendaleva, research assistant

Dmitriy V. Girduyk, research assistant

Tatiana A. Pashchenko, research assistant

Phone: 439-95-14