Brian Olson

About Brian Olson

The androgen receptor (AR) is the engine driving prostate cancer and is the treatment target for metastatic disease. Resistance mechanisms to AR-targeting drugs commonly develop and lead to untreatable disease states, which can be accompanied by enhanced expression of AR.

T cells are an immune cell type with potent tumor-killing capabilities. Therapies to promote the ability of T cells to recognize and kill various tumors types are promising.

Dr. Brian Olson has found that T cells that recognize AR arise in prostate cancer patients and vaccination against AR induces potent anti-tumor T cell responses in mice.

In this project, the utility of combinations of AR-targeted drugs and vaccination against AR will be evaluated in pre-clinical models and first-in-human clinical trials. Methodologies will be developed to predict patients that will benefit from this combinatorial therapy.

If successful, this project will lead to a novel combination therapy to avoid lethal drug-resistance.

What this means for patients: Development of therapies that overcome resistance to AR-targeted medicines is critical for finding a cure to this lethal disease. This project will develop a unique therapeutic regimen that takes advantage of AR-targeted drug resistance mechanisms and the power of the immune system for treatment of patients with advanced disease.