Tackling Chordoma with Dr. Cassian Yee

CRI-Chordoma Foundation CLIP Investigator Cassian Yee is exploring how to design cell therapies for patients with a rare type of sarcoma. #immunology #immunotherapy

In the early 2000s, Cancer Research Institute (CRI) Investigator Cassian Yee, M.D.—under the leadership of Philip D. Greenberg, M.D., at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center—performed one of the first successful uses of adoptive cell therapy against melanoma.

Now, as a CRI-Chordoma Foundation CLIP Investigator, he’s taking the cell therapy expertise he’s honed over the last two decades and aiming at a new target: a rare type of sarcoma called chordoma. To do so, he’s looking to better understand how T cells—specifically the CD8 “killer” and CD4 “helper” T cells that can target tumor cells via antigens displayed on the MHC class 1 and MHC class 2 systems, respectively.

For Sarcoma Awareness Month, CRI Assistant Director, Scientific Content Dr. Arthur Brodsky spoke with Yee to learn more about how he’s progressing in tackling this challenge, as well as what his efforts might mean for cancer immunotherapy field at large.

Dr. Cassian Yee is the director of Solid Tumor Cell Therapy in the Center for Cancer Immunology Research and a professor in the Department of Melanoma Medical Oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. https://www.cancerresearch.org/about-...

Established in 1953, the Cancer Research Institute (CRI) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to harnessing our immune system’s power to control and potentially cure all cancers. Our mission: Save more lives by fueling the discovery and development of powerful immunotherapies for all types of cancer. To accomplish this, we rely on donor support and collaborative partnerships to fund and carry out the most innovative clinical and laboratory research around the world, support the next generation of the field’s leaders, and serve as the trusted source of information on immunotherapy for cancer patients and their caregivers. https://www.cancerresearch.org

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