A cellular protein known as the human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2) is very frequently associated with aggressive cancers, including ovarian cancer (OC). In fact, anywhere between 11-60% of OC have elevated HER2 levels. Nonetheless, doctors don’t currently consider HER2 status when deciding treatment for women diagnosed with OC, and there are no approved OC treatments that target HER2.

Our group has recently developed one such HER2-targeted therapy, which combines an approved breast cancer drug (named Kadcyla®) and a selective cancer-killing “oncolytic” virus. This combination represents a two-fold attack on the tumour:

1) Kadcyla® exerts anti-cancer activity while it also renders the cancer more vulnerable to the incoming virus;

2) the oncolytic virus selectively infects the tumour, where it can deliver a genetic program that leads to an immune response and cancer remission.

For this project, we will develop an OC mouse model expressing HER2 and use this new model to determine which combination of Kadcyla® and oncolytic virus have the best anti-cancer effect. This will provide evidence and rationale for more rigorous testing, moving towards a clinical trial.