Colorectal Cancer Program
Our colorectal cancer program utilizes engineered phage with various payloads (such as immunostimulatory payloads) that are administered intravenously to target Fusobacterium nucleatum bacteria residing within the tumor microenvironment. The aim of payload delivery is to convert cold tumors to hot tumors with activated immune responses.
The majority of colorectal cancer tumor types are cold tumors, meaning that they respond poorly to most immuno-oncology therapies because they are largely devoid of immune cells. Various methods are being investigated with the intent of turning ‘cold’ tumors into ‘hot’ tumors. The underlying premise behind most of these methods is to both induce immune activity in the tumor and expose tumor antigens that can be recognized by the immune system.
Recent studies have shown that Fusobacterium nucleatum is enriched in colorectal cancer tumors, binds to tumor cells and may play a pathologic role by protecting the tumor from the host’s immune system. We have demonstrated that IV-administered Fusobacterium-targeting phage could reach and successfully infect intra-tumoral F. nucleatum in a mouse model of colorectal cancer. We are currently engineering these phage to carry various therapeutic payloads with the aim of converting ‘cold’ tumors to ‘hot’.