Madison Reporter

UW Carbone Cancer Center researchers are investigating new ways to use the body’s immune system to fight cancer. Jenny Gumperz, PhD, is studying how two types of immune cells— invariant natural killer T cells (iNKT) and dendritic cells—can work together to improve the immune response against cancer.

“We’ve made the observation that (these two immune cells) move around together and form a physical partnership, and when this association forms they seem to help other immune cells overcome some of the challenges they’re facing in fighting cancer cells,” Gumperz said.

To bring laboratory discoveries into patient care, UW researchers collaborate with the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF). WARF was established 100 years ago by UW–Madison to help patent and license university innovations for real-world applications. The foundation supports commercializing market-ready discoveries and invests in promising research projects such as Gumperz’s work.

Gumperz has spent years studying how the immune system detects and fights harmful substances. Her research shows that while the immune system can initially attack cancer, its response often weakens over time. Cancer cells may disguise themselves or manipulate signaling pathways to avoid detection, leading to less effective immune attacks.

“With that recognition, it opened up this idea that we can get the immune system to attack cancer again,” Gumperz said.

Immunotherapy treatments like checkpoint inhibitors and CAR T-cell therapy have advanced cancer care but are only effective for about 15-20% of patients. These therapies can also cause side effects due to their broad impact on immune signaling pathways.

“Our immune system is prevented from attacking good cells through these major signaling pathways, and cancers use a lot of those pathways, so if you overcome them, you can end up with very problematic and potentially lethal aspects of the immune response against healthy cells,” she said.

The pairing of iNKT and dendritic cells may allow for a more targeted activation of the immune response without causing widespread inflammation. Early studies suggest this method could address issues like immune exhaustion in cancer patients and provide longer-lasting protection against new cancer cell growth before tumors develop.

Gumperz worked with Beth Fischer, director of life sciences intellectual property at WARF, to explore bringing her lab’s findings closer to clinical use.

“I see a lot of really amazing research, and this was one of those meetings I came out of going, ‘Wow. This is really cutting edge, exciting stuff.’ And it wasn’t difficult for me to envision what a product could look like,” Fischer said.

WARF is now seeking a patent for Gumperz’s approach and has provided funding through its Accelerator program for further preclinical research. The Accelerator program helps researchers demonstrate their concepts’ potential value for future investors by supporting additional studies and connecting them with industry experts who offer feedback on commercial viability.

“This is the research that companies need to see to get excited and say, “Okay, yes, I agree with you that there is a product here and you’ve helped validate and de-risk it for us,” Fischer said.

The current focus is on ovarian cancer because treatment options are limited when it returns after surgery or chemotherapy. Ovarian cancer has a five-year survival rate below 50%. Gumperz hopes her approach will be used after initial treatment during periods when no detectable cancer remains—aiming to eliminate small clusters of new cancer cells before relapse occurs.

“What we would like to do is use this approach during the period after initial treatment when patients often no longer have detectable cancer and try to activate their immune response to go and eliminate micro metastases and prevent relapse,” Gumperz said.

While this strategy may apply broadly across different cancers in the future, starting with ovarian cancer addresses an urgent need first. Fischer praised Gumperz’s openness throughout their collaboration process.

“Jenny has been a great, willing partner at every step,” Fischer said.