About the Immunotherapy Institute

Immunotherapy and the Standard of Cure

The mission of the Immunotherapy Institute of the Cancer Center at BIDMC is to:

Develop powerful new immune-based cancer therapies through basic science, translational research and clinical trials
Advance the development of personalized cell therapies and activation of the immune system by targeting the tumor microenvironment
Develop immune-based therapies to significantly improve outcomes for cancer patients
Move from the standard of care toward the standard of cure

As an international leader in cancer immunotherapy, the BIDMC Cancer Center in partnership with the BIDMC Cancer Research Institute is dramatically impacting scientific discovery and patient care through the transformative field of immunotherapy.

More About the Cancer Research Institute

Personalized Dendritic Cells

Immunotherapy Institute investigators have already developed a promising strategy for making personalized cancer vaccines through the fusion of patient-derived tumor cells with powerful immune-educating cells known as dendritic cells. Areas of clinical translation include two common blood cancers, multiple myeloma, acute myeloid leukemia, and soon non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and solid tumors. In a study of patients with acute myeloid leukemia, vaccination after chemotherapy resulted in 71 percent of patients showing evidence of ongoing remission at five years as compared to an expected level of approximately 10 percent. In patients with multiple myeloma undergoing transplant, vaccination resulted in the doubling of the number of patients who achieved complete remission. Based on these findings, BIDMC is now leading a first of its kind national trial in which 17 cancer centers are participating to study the effectiveness of the fusion vaccine in patients with myeloma.

National Leadership

Dr. Avigan, Dr. Rosenblatt and their team are leading a first of its kind national study under a NIH-sponsored cooperative oncology group (CTN) to study this unique personalized vaccine in patients with myeloma throughout the country. A second national study has been launched for patients with acute myeloid leukemia. They have done this by establishing an open-source, collaborative effort with 17 other leading cancer centers whose cell therapy teams learned how to make the vaccine at BIDMC.

CAR T-Cells

Our investigators participated in the critical clinical trials that demonstrated the remarkable effectiveness of CAR T-cells, another form of personalized cancer immunotherapy, in lymphoma and multiple myeloma. The results led to FDA approval of CAR T-cells for treatment of lymphoma and acute lymphocytic leukemia, with approval for myeloma anticipated in the near future. BIDMC has established partnerships with several leading pharmaceutical companies to deliver CAR T-cells as clinically approved therapies. BIDMC is now leading an international effort to improve CAR T-cell outcomes by integrating vaccine and CAR T-cell therapy, and to extend this approach to solid tumors.

Checkpoint Blockade

Our investigators led clinical trials that established checkpoint blockade as transformative therapy for solid tumors. The result was long-term disease control in a subset of patients with advanced cancers who previously faced terminal illness and limited treatment options. Through leadership of the National Cancer Institute’s Kidney Cancer SPORE (Special Project of Research Excellence) grant, BIDMC investigators are identifying biomarkers of disease and developing new combination therapies. BIDMC investigators are also participating in leukemia SPORE studies focusing on immune oncology.

Program Infrastructure

The Immunotherapy Institute has already built infrastructure to support these efforts by launching the state-of-the-art Schwartz Cancer Immunotherapy and Cell Manipulation Facility. In this core facility, personalized cell therapies are created and delivered, including cancer vaccines, CAR T-cells, NK cells and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. In addition, the Immunotherapy Institute organizes seminars, lectures and retreats to review current work, share ideas and develop new collaborations.