He is the principal investigator of an NCI - funded, multi-million-dollar Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) in ovarian cancer, and he is the principal investigator of a multi-million-dollar grant from the New York State Stem Cell Science program (NYSTEM) to pioneer a novel strategy of reprogramming human mature T cells and hematopoietic stem cells for generating sustained
attack against ovarian cancer in patients.
A novel approach to
cancer immunotherapy — strategies designed to induce the immune system to
attack cancer cells — may provide a new and cost - effective weapon
against some of the most deadly tumors, including
ovarian cancer and mesothelioma.
The chronically stressed mice had decreased immune function and experienced tumor development significantly earlier than the non-stressed mice.16 Other mouse studies of
ovarian cancer showed that chronic stress resulted in increased
cancer growth as well as increased angiogenesis, the process with which
cancer forms new blood vessels to feed itself nutrients for growth and metastases.17 Chronic stress has also been shown to decrease our body's ability to mount an
attack against foreign invaders, including viruses.18 As we know that several viruses can cause
cancer (HPV and cervical
cancer, and EBV and nasopharyngeal
cancer), we can extrapolate that any decrease in immune function could increase
cancer risk.