Skip to content
Home page - Centenary Institute Centenary Institute

Primary menu

  • Research
        • Research

          The latest medical research into our most complex health challenges across cancer, cardiovascular disease and inflammation

          Learn more

        • Cancer
        • Inflammation
        • Cardiovascular
        • Programs
        • Laboratories
        • Diseases
        • Expertises
        • Services and instrumentation
  • Support us
        • Support us

          By supporting the Centenary Institute you can help improve human health through excellence in medical research

          Learn more

        • Workplace giving
        • Host or join a fundraiser
        • Gift in your will
        • Donate in Memory
  • Impact
        • Impact

          Our research develops new diagnostics, treatments and cures for some of the most deadly and debilitating diseases affecting society today

          Learn more

        • Breakthroughs
        • Community and research
  • Careers & studies
        • Careers & Studies

          Take the next step in your career with Centenary, Australia’s foremost clinically integrated medical research institute

          Learn more

        • Career opportunities
        • Life at Centenary
        • Post-Doctorate Research
        • PhD
        • Masters
        • Honours
  • News & events
        • News & Events

          Explore the latest research breakthroughs and ways you can take part in our series of digital and in-person events

        • News
        • Events
        • Media Hub
  • About us
        • About us

          We are world-leading independent medical research institute that drives collaboration to accelerate and translate solutions to our most complex health challenges

          Learn more

        • Governance
        • Corporate information
        • Annual reports
        • Our researchers
        • Contact
  • Donate
    Centenary Institute > News > Fighting throat cancer with T cells

Fighting throat cancer with T cells

Date time 11 June, 2020
News Type News type Media release
Research led by the Centenary Institute has discovered that immune cells accumulating within the tumour environment, called tumour-resident T cells, are a critical determinant in survival rates of patients suffering from throat cancer.

Research led by the Centenary Institute has discovered that immune cells accumulating within the tumour environment, called tumour-resident T cells, are a critical determinant in survival rates of patients suffering from throat cancer.

Reported in the prestigious ‘Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer’, the research suggests that strategies aiming to boost these T-cells at tumour sites could be beneficial to patients.

“Oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) is a form of throat cancer. It can be caused by environmental factors such as smoking or by human papillomavirus infection (HPV), the same virus that causes cervical cancer in women,” said Ms Rehana Hewavisenti (pictured left), lead author of the study and researcher at the Centenary Institute and the University of Sydney.

“We knew that patients with HPV-related OPSCC had far better clinical outcomes compared to other OPSCC patients but we didn’t know why,” she said.

In examining over sixty patient samples, Ms Hewavisenti and her colleagues discovered that increased levels of tumour-resident T cells, whether in HPV or non-HPV OPSCC cases, was clearly associated with improved patient survival outcomes.

“It was the accumulation of these immune T-cells, in and around the tumour site that appeared to be key,” said Ms Hewavisenti.

The researchers also found in their study that HPV OPSCC patients generally had far higher levels of tumour-resident T cells compared to their non-HPV OPSCC patient counterparts.

“We think these HPV positive patients tended to have better clinical outcomes as HPV infection is likely to favour the accumulation of these beneficial T-cells within the tumour area,” she said.

Dr Mainthan Palendira (pictured right), Head of the Centenary Institute’s Human Viral and Cancer Immunology Laboratory and senior author on the research paper believes the research findings have major implications.

“Now that we understand how important this immune response is in relation to OPSCC, we can begin developing new treatment strategies focused on recruiting these favourable tumour-resident T cells directly to tumours,” he said.

Dr Palendira believes that looking at the amount of these T-cells in cancer could help clinicians to personalise the best treatment approach for individual patients.

“We also think that our research demonstrating viral (HPV) links with this tumour-resident T cell accumulation could help in future cancer vaccine development efforts too,” he said.

Read the full media release here.

Themes

  • Cancer

    Cancer

Media enquires

For all media and interview enquiries, please contact Tony Crawshaw, Media and Communications Manager

Phone number Phone Number 0402 770 403

Email Email t.crawshaw@centenary.org.au

Media Release

Download

Recent Stories

  • New drug target identified for inflammatory lung disease

    Researchers at the Centenary Institute and the University of Technology Sydney have identified a new drug target for the treatment and prevention of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), an inflammatory lung disease that causes airway blockage and that makes it difficult to breathe.
    News Type: Media release
    Date 04 Jul 2022
  • Inflammation presentation awarded

    Dr Joyce Chiu from the ACRF Centenary Cancer Research Centre has won an Oral Communication Award for her talk given at the 15th World Congress on Inflammation, held in Rome, June 2022.
    News Type: Research News
    Date 01 Jul 2022
  • Meet Dr Annalicia Vaughan

    A medical researcher at the Centenary UTS Centre for Inflammation, Dr Annalicia Vaughan specialises in the gut-lung axis and its role in lung and respiratory diseases.
    News Type: Profiles
    Date 28 Jun 2022
    Dr Vaughan
  • The Centenary Institute is excited to join the Sydney Biomedical Accelerator (SBA) as primary medical research partner

    The Centenary Institute welcomes the NSW Government’s commitment to fund a new biomedical complex in Camperdown. The Chair of the Centenary Institute Board, Joseph Carrozzi AM, and its Executive Director, Professor Mathew Vadas AO, are thrilled that a biomedical complex, the Sydney Biomedical Accelerator (SBA), will now be a reality.
    News Type: Media release
    Date 17 Jun 2022

Subscribe to receive news on
research updates and free events

Newsletter

The Centenary Institute is a world-leading independent Medical Research Institute.

We acknowledge the Gadigal of the Eora Nation, the traditional custodians of the Country on which the Centenary Institute stands.

About

  • About
  • Governance
  • Corporate information

Research

  • Programs
  • Laboratories
  • Our researchers
  • News
  • Media hub

Careers & studies

  • Career opportunities
  • Life at Centenary

Links

  • Contact
  • Privacy statement

Contact us

Building 93, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital
Missenden Rd
Camperdown NSW 2050 Australia
Telephone +61 2 9565 6100
Fax +61 2 9565 6101

Centenary Institute ABN 22 654 201 090 (DGR 1) • Centenary Institute Medical Research Foundation ABN 85 778 244 012 (DGR 2)
© 2017 Centenary Institute of Cancer Medicine and Cell Biology.

  • Linkedin
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • Instagram