Maximise the efficacy of a Lynch Vaccine

 While a protective vaccine that protects against cancer could be life-changing for people with Lynch syndrome, previous attempts to create cancer vaccines have not been successful.

This is because cancers can change their surroundings and hide from the immune cells that would usually find and kill them. To improve our chances of success, we will focus on vaccinating people with LS before they develop cancer. By doing this, we aim to target abnormal cells before they have a chance to change their surroundings and become invisible to the immune system.

^{FIGURE: Here on the left you can see a section of a colonic polyp removed from a patient with Lynch syndrome. Blue and pink colours show the structure of colon tissue. The figure in the centre is a detail of the polyp, and the one on the right shows a fraction of the normal colon. The other colours show the distribution of immune cells: T cells are green (CD4), yellow (CD8), and red (FoxP3). Macrophages are orange (CD68) and neutrophils are blue (MPO). We can see that polyps are very rich in immune cells, especially CD4 T cells, these cells are key to vaccine response.}

At the same time, we will work out the best vaccine strategy to overcome the ways in which cancer cells avoid being attacked by the immune system. To do this, we will look at the environment surrounding cancers and precancers. This will help us understand which immune cells are most common, how they communicate with each other, and the best ways to activate them.

For a vaccine to be effective, it is important to not only choose the right targets, but also to design a vaccine that stimulates a strong and long-lasting immune response. This study will help us understand the best possible formulation for a future vaccine.