Partnership to Assess Viral and Immune Landscape Intersections with ONcology for People Living with HIV (PAVILION) is part of the NIH HIV-Associated Malignancy Research Center (HAMRC). PAVILION is working to increase the capacity of institutions and investigators to research understudied, virus-associated tumors that disproportionately impact men and women living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa.

PAVILION includes scientists at Moffitt Cancer Center, Stellenbosch University, University of Zimbabwe, the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), and Vanderbilt University Medical Center, who together will implement two research projects and four Cores.

ADMINISTRATIVE & COORDINATING CORE

The A&C Core is the central resource for administrative coordination, operational and financial oversight.

CENTRAL LABORATORY
CORE

The CL Core provides centralized biobanking and virologic and immunologic assessment of well-annotated biospecimens.

DATA MANAGEMENT & STATISTICS CORE

The DMS Core provides comprehensive statistical design, data management, and analysis.

DEVELOPMENTAL
CORE

The Developmental Core fosters the career development of junior investigators in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and the United States.

 

Project 1: Exploring Viral and Immunological Factors with HPV-associated Cancer in People Living with HIV and its Relation to Survival

People living with HIV (PLWH) have significantly higher cancer incidence compared to people without HIV for cancers caused by HPV (cervical, vulvar, anal, penile, and oropharyngeal). Altered immunity, not simply immunodeficiency, is one proposed mechanism driving this excess risk. The tumor viral and immune milieu are likely major factors contributing to these cancer disparities among PLWH, but few studies have examined them. Project 1’s overall goal is to inform the development of effective prevention and treatment strategies for HPV-related cancers among PLWH in SSA through thorough investigation of the viral and tumor immune factors associated with HPV-cancers and treatment outcomes using viral and immune profiling tools and high-dimensional technologies.

Project 2: Novel Investigation of Epstein-Barr Virus as a Potential Cause of Conjunctival Squamous Cell Carcinoma among People Living with HIV in Zimbabwe

Conjunctival squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) is an eye cancer with unknown etiology that disproportionately impacts sub-Saharan Africa, a setting where presentation with advanced disease is common and prevalence of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is high. People living with HIV (PLWH), a population highly susceptible to virus-associated cancers, have a pronounced elevation of cSCC cancer incidence, suggesting a potential viral etiology for this tumor. Project 2 seeks to determine if EBV infection is causally linked to the development of cSCC in PLWH in sub-Saharan Africa, laying the groundwork for future development of EBV targeted therapeutics and early detection biomarker of cSCC.