Catherine J. Wu, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute has been awarded the Sjöberg Prize today for her pioneering research in the field of personalized vaccines to treat cancer. Established in 2017, the Sjöberg Prize is awarded annually in partnership between the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and the Sjöberg Foundation to a person or persons who have made decisive contributions to cancer research.
Wu has focused her research on small mutations in cancer cells, which give rise to tumor neoantigens. These neoantigens are structures that the immune system’s T cells can recognize as foreign and attack. By sequencing DNA from healthy cells and cancer cells, Wu and her colleagues were able to identify a cancer patient’s unique tumor neoantigens. She then produced synthetic copies of these, which were injected as a type of vaccine. For some of the patients, this resulted in the immune system’s cells being activated and targeting the tumor cells.
