Improving Survival Rates of Metastatic Melanoma Using a Novel Immunotherapy Approach

In the US, there are over 100,000 cases of melanoma reported each year with 7,000 deaths. Although surgery is effective when melanoma is detected in Stage I and II, Stage IV melanoma has an average 5-year survival rate of 22.5%. 15dPMJ2 is being developed at ECU as an intralesional injection for use in patients that have been diagnosed with Stage III (regional metastatic) or Stage IV (distant metastatic) melanoma. 15dPMJ2 is a patented compound discovered by our lab that induces cell death preferentially in melanoma. In addition, 15dPMJ2 elicits an immune response towards the tumor that causes the formation of memory T cells, a process that is critical to vaccinate the host against recurrent tumors. Our technical project is focused on two milestones: 1) Identify the optimal biological dose at which 15dPMJ2 kills tumor cells and initiates an immune response in a mouse model of melanoma and 2) Determine if 15dPMJ2 promotes greater survival when compared to or in combination with current gold standard immunotherapeutics in a mouse model of melanoma. We expect 15dPMJ2 to produce greater survival when compared to current immunotherapy gold standards. We also expect mice to have a lower recurrence rates following treatment with 15dPMJ2.

Scholars @ ECU