Principal Investigator:
Melissa Davis, Adjunct Associate Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology Research in Surgery
Background & Unmet Need
- The Duffy Antigen Receptor for Chemokines (DARC), also known as Atypical Chemokine Receptor 1 (ACKR1), plays a major role in the regulation of circulating pro-inflammatory chemokines
- A mutation in the DARC/ACKR1 gene, rs2814778, results in a Duffy-null allele
- African American (AA) cohorts have over 70% allele frequency of this allele, and it is well known that pre-menopausal AA women have higher incident rates of breast cancer
- However, the impact of DARC expression on treatment outcomes is unknown
- Unmet Need: Improved understanding of the role of DARC expression to guide treatment decisions
Technology Overview
- The Technology: Method for measuring DARC expression levels as a prognostic indicator of a patient’s response to tumor immunotherapy
- The Discovery: Breast cancer patients with DARC-high tumors had significantly longer overall survival (OS) and relapse-free survival (RFS) compared to patients with DARC-low tumors
- DARC-high tumors were also found to have significantly higher levels of the chemokine CCL2 but significantly lower levels of the chemokine CXCL8
- Tumor immune cell populations were also found to be directly correlated to DARC expression, in all intrinsic tumor subtypes
- Patients with DARC-high tumors may be more responsive to immunotherapies (e.g., checkpoint inhibitors), whereas patients with DARC-low tumors may benefit from chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery
Technology Applications
- Prognostic indicator of patient response to immunotherapies
- Predictor of long-term patient outcomes
Technology Advantages
- Strong correlation between DARC expression and breast cancer survival
- Test may be performed either through genetic testing or direct measurement of DARC protein levels
- Potential to be applied to additional tumor types beyond breast cancer
Resources
Intellectual Property
Patents
- US Application: US20220119891A1. "Darc expression as prognosticator of immunotherapy outcomes." Published Apr 21, 2022.
- EP Application: EP3921851A1. "Darc expression as prognosticator of immunotherapy outcomes." Published Dec 15, 2021.
Cornell Reference
- 8495
Contact Information
For additional information please contact
Brian Kelly
Director, Business Development and Licensing
Phone: (646) 962-7041
Email: bjk44@cornell.edu