The work of Shawn Demehri, MD, PhD — Bob and Rita Davis Family MGH Research Scholar 2023-2028, Arthur and Sandra Irving Endowed Chair in Cancer Immunology and Krantz Family Center for Cancer Research investigator — and his team in the Demehri Lab at Massachusetts General Hospital is on the cutting edge of cancer research, determining the immune system’s role in the early stages of cancer development to harness its potential for treatment and prevention. Now, Blackstone Group President Jon Gray and his wife Mindy have taken notice: as part of the Gray Foundation’s 2023 Team Science competition, they have awarded $3 million to Dr. Demehri to continue his study of a novel immunological approach to prevent cancers related to the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation.
“We’re trying to understand how to employ a patient’s immune system to fight cancer, and we’re very interested in how to prevent breast cancer in patients who are carriers of BRCA gene mutations,” Dr. Demehri says. “I’m very grateful to the Gray Foundation for recognizing the potential and providing this award to fund our work.”
“If you look at cancer research, much of it is reactive, focusing on treatment of advanced disease. But immunotherapy can be a safe, meaningful treatment to prevent a patient from getting cancer when they’re at risk.”
“The Foundation’s overarching goal is to develop innovative approaches for the early detection and prevention/interception of all BRCA-related cancers,” Jon Gray says. “Dr. Demehri’s project aligns perfectly with this mission. We are hopeful that the advancements generated by his team will catalyze transformative progress in the field and pave the way for the development of new strategies aimed at eliminating the earliest signs of cancer in BRCA carriers through immunosurveillance.”
Creating Strong Anti-Cancer Agents
In their research over the last decade, Dr. Demehri and his team have studied breast gland tissues from patients with the BRCA mutation who hadn’t yet developed cancer, but who came to Mass General for elective double mastectomies. The team discovered that those glands had increased immune cells, which opened the door to developing an understanding of the effect of these immune cells on the glands. For Dr. Demehri, the next step is to further explore the impact of these cells, increase their power if they have cancer-fighting abilities — and redirect them if they don’t.
The funds from the Team Science award will help Dr. Demehri in his pre-clinical work to test models that will boost or redirect these immune cells. His ultimate vision is to create something akin to a cancer vaccine, which would create an immune response in BCRA mutation-positive patients that turns immune cells into strong anti-cancer agents.
“Prevention is always better than a cure, because you save the patient from suffering,” Dr. Demehri says. “If you look at cancer research, much of it is reactive, focusing on treatment of advanced disease. But immunotherapy can be a safe, meaningful treatment to prevent a patient from getting cancer when they’re at risk.”
A Cancer Prevention Community
For the Grays, preventing BRCA-related cancers is personal. Mindy’s sister had a BRCA gene mutation and died of ovarian cancer in 2002. She and Jon established the Gray Foundation in 2014 to fight BRCA-related cancers and help kids from low-income families in New York City. In total, the Grays have committed $190 million to supporting BRCA research. Dr. Demehri was one of seven winners in this round of Team Science grants, selected from more than 55 applications.
“With the latest round of our Team Science awards, our primary objective was to fund groups capable of advancing early detection, prevention, and interception of BRCA-related cancers,” Mindy Gray says. “Recognizing these as significant challenges, we believe that leveraging Team Science principles, which foster increased synergy, creativity and innovation by assembling top researchers worldwide, will take us closer to our goal of eliminating the development of cancers in BRCA carriers.”
“The Team Science support allows us to dive very deep into the immune response of this patient population, but it also creates this community of scientists who are focused on preventing cancer,” Dr. Demehri says. “The funding, the community and the scientific resources all link together to advance immunology in susceptible patients. It’s helping us achieve our goal of better cancer prevention.”
To learn more about the Demehri Lab, click here. To read more about the Gray Foundation’s BRCA initiatives and the Team Science awards, click here.
