Translational Research Toward Development of a Kaposi Sarcoma Herpesvirus (KSHV) Vaccine (U01 Clinical Trial Optional)

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) is making an announcement for a new funding opportunity geared towards the development of a Kaposi Sarcoma Herpesvirus (KSHV) vaccine, both prophylactic and therapeutic in nature. This builds on existing research related to the transmission of KSHV conducted under previous funding opportunities.

A prophylactic vaccine would aim to prevent initial KSHV infection and its transmission, potentially reducing the chances of developing Kaposi Sarcoma and other associated conditions like multicentric Castleman disease, primary effusion lymphoma, and KSHV inflammatory cytokine syndrome, or lessening the disease severity. On the other hand, a therapeutic vaccine would target people already infected with KSHV, seeking to prevent or treat the disease.

The scope of research supported by this funding would cover various areas. These may include identifying and evaluating potential KSHV vaccine targets, the creation of animal models for testing vaccines, development and testing of potential KSHV vaccines, and studies meant to improve the efficiency of an effective KSHV vaccine in people with HIV.

In addition, the research would aim to understand the early steps of KSHV infection and primary means of transmission between people within different populations for better vaccine targeting. The grant would also support work on optimizing and standardizing methods for detecting KSHV.