Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Volker Schirrmacher
Scientific Director of Tumor Immunology at the IOZK
Scientific Director of Tumor Immunology at the IOZK
Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Volker Schirrmacher was appointed Scientific Advisor and Professor of Immunology at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ ) in Heidelberg in 1976. In 1979 he habilitated in immunology in Heidelberg and in 1986 he became a full professor. He headed the Department of Cellular Immunology at the DKFZ until his retirement in 2008.
He has been Scientific Director of Tumor Immunology at the IOZK since 2008. His scientific oeuvre includes almost 400 publications in international journals.
He was Chairman of the Experimental Cancer Research Section of the German Cancer Society in 1987 and 1988 and President of the Metastasis Research Society in 1989/80. In 2003 and 2004, he represented Germany at the European Association of Cancer Research (EACR). From 2009 to 2011, he was President of the European Society for Applied Immunology (EGAI).
In 1982 he received the Aronson Prize and the Meyenburg Prize and in 1988 the German Cancer Prize.
He is an internationally recognized pioneer of immunotherapy for cancer with a focus on oncolytic viruses. Together with the scientists and doctors at the IOZK, he works on the systematic integration of new scientific findings to further develop IOZK immunotherapy.
"Viruses are known to trigger various diseases. However, it is less well known that certain viruses are used to treat cancer. Over 100 years ago, doctors observed for the first time that patients were cured of their cancer after viral infections."
Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Volker Schirrmacher
The Complexity of Malignant Glioma Treatment
Interview with Prof. Dr. Volker Schirrmacher on Klassik Radio
Individualized Multimodal Immunotherapy (IMI): Scientific Rationale and Clinical Experience from a Single Institution
Methods behind oncolytic virus-based DC vaccines in cancer: Toward a multiphase combined treatment strategy for Glioblastoma (GBM) patients
Dendritic cell vaccination for glioblastoma multiforme patients: has a new milestone been reached?
The Application of Evidence-Based Medicine in Individualized Medicine
Individualized Multimodal Immunotherapy for Adults with IDH1 Wild-Type GBM: A Single Institute Experience
Counteracting Immunosuppression in the Tumor Microenvironment by Oncolytic Newcastle Disease Virus and Cellular Immunotherapy
Synergy between TMZ and individualized multimodal immunotherapy to improve overall survival of IDH1 wild-type MGMT promoter-unmethylated GBM patients
Randomized Controlled Immunotherapy Clinical Trials for GBM Challenged
Mitochondria at Work: New Insights into Regulation and Dysregulation of Cellular Energy Supply and Metabolism
Evidence-Based Medicine in Oncology: Commercial Versus Patient Benefit
Position paper: new insights into the immunobiology and dynamics of tumor-host interactions require adaptations of clinical studies
IOZK analysis proves good tolerability of IOZK immunotherapy in diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG)
Addition of Multimodal Immunotherapy to Combination Treatment Strategies for Children with DIPG: A Single Institution Experience
Prof. Dr. Volker Schirrmacher publishes two groundbreaking review articles on immunotherapy
Cancer Vaccines and Oncolytic Viruses Exert Profoundly Lower Side Effects in Cancer Patients than Other Systemic Therapies: A Comparative Analysis
New Insights into Mechanisms of Long-term Protective Anti-tumor Immunity Induced by Cancer Vaccines Modified by Virus Infection
Breaking Therapy Resistance: An Update on Oncolytic Newcastle Disease Virus for Improvements of Cancer Therapy
Professor Volker Schirrmacher from the Cologne IOZK will open the conference at Kiel University with his lecture on research into oncolytic viruses in the context of individual cancer immunotherapy.
From chemotherapy to biological therapy: A review of novel concepts to reduce the side effects of systemic cancer treatment (Review)
International Journal of Oncology: "From chemotherapy to biological therapy", Prof. Dr. Volker Schirrmacher
IOZK article on treatment trials for glioblastoma in the specialist journal: "Austin Oncology Case Report"
IOZK lecture: Modulated electro-hyperthermia in children with DIPG, ESHO conference, Charité Berlin
Book publication by Prof. Dr. Schirrmacher: Quo vadis cancer therapy
IOZK article in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences by Prof. Schirrmacher on the role of the Newcastle Disease Virus in tumor vaccination,
Immunobiology of Newcastle Disease Virus and Its Use for Prophylactic Vaccination in Poultry and as Adjuvant for Therapeutic Vaccination in Cancer Patients
IOZK article by Prof. Schirrmacher in "Deutsche Zeitschrift für Onkologie" on the basics of immunotherapy
IOZK article in Austin Oncology Case Reports on cancer vaccines
Article by Prof. Schirrmacher in Biomedicines: "Fifty Years of Clinical Application of Newcastle Disease Virus"
Report by Prof. Dr. Schirrmacher in the International Journal of Oncology on the findings of tumor-reactive T-cell memory in the bone marrow
Oncolytic Newcastle disease virus as a prospective anti-cancer therapy. A biologic agent with potential to break therapy resistance
IOZK case study on the long-term survival of a patient with breast cancer
Article by Prof. Dr. Schirrmacher in the Viennese medical weekly "Skriptum"
Long-term survival of a breast cancer patient with extensive liver metastases upon immune and virotherapy: a case report
Prof. Dr. Schirrmacher publishes e-book: Harnessing Oncolytic Virus-mediated Antitumor Immunity
Strong T‑cell costimulation can reactivate tumor antigen‑specific T cells in late‑stage metastasized colorectal carcinoma patients: results from a phase Ⅰ clinical study
Long-term remission of prostate cancer with extensive bone metastases upon immuno- and virotherapy: A case report
Multimodal cancer therapy involving oncolytic newcastle disease virus, autologous immune cells, and bi-specific antibodies
Autologous tumor cell vaccines for post-operative active-specific immunotherapy of colorectal carcinoma: long-term patient survival and mechanism of function
Oncolytic Newcastle Disease Virus as Cutting Edge between Tumor and Host
Bispecific antibodies and trispecific immunocytokines for targeting the immune system against cancer: preparing for the future
Analysis of three properties of Newcastle disease virus for fighting cancer: tumor-selective replication, antitumor cytotoxicity, and immunostimulation
Newcastle disease virus induces pro-inflammatory conditions and type I interferon for counter-acting Treg activity
Importance of retinoic acid-inducible gene I and of receptor for type I interferon for cellular resistance to infection by Newcastle disease virus
Important role of interferon regulatory factor (IRF)-3 in the interferon response of mouse macrophages upon infection by Newcastle disease virus
Targeting of IL-2 and GM-CSF immunocytokines to a tumor vaccine leads to increased anti-tumor activity
Antitumor vaccination by Newcastle Disease Virus Hemagglutinin-Neuraminidase plasmid DNA application: changes in tumor microenvironment and activation of innate anti-tumor immunity
Transcriptome analysis and cytokine profiling of naive T cells stimulated by a tumor vaccine via CD3 and CD25
Optimization studies for the coupling of bispecific antibodies to viral anchor molecules of a tumor vaccine
The hemagglutinin-neuraminidase gene of Newcastle Disease Virus: a powerful molecular adjuvant for DNA anti-tumor vaccination
Polarization of human monocyte-derived dendritic cells to DC1 by in vitro stimulation with Newcastle Disease Virus
Activation of natural killer cells by newcastle disease virus hemagglutinin-neuraminidase
Expression of RIG-I, IRF3, IFN-beta and IRF7 determines resistance or susceptibility of cells to infection by Newcastle Disease Virus
Cross-infection of tumor cells by contact with T lymphocytes loaded with Newcastle disease virus
Randomized clinical studies of anti-tumor vaccination: state of the art in 2008
Newcastle disease virus: a promising vector for viral therapy, immune therapy, and gene therapy of cancer
Treatment of advanced metastasized breast cancer with bone marrow-derived tumour-reactive memory T cells: a pilot clinical study
Activation of human T cells by a tumor vaccine infected with recombinant Newcastle disease virus producing IL-2
Recombinant Newcastle disease virus expressing human interleukin-2 serves as a potential candidate for tumor therapy
Detection and functional analysis of tumor infiltrating T-lymphocytes (TIL) in liver metastases from colorectal cancer
Efficiency of adjuvant active specific immunization with Newcastle disease virus modified tumor cells in colorectal cancer patients following resection of liver metastases: results of a prospective randomized trial
An effective tumor vaccine optimized for costimulation via bispecific and trispecific fusion proteins
Second International Conference on Cancer Vaccines/Adjuvants/Delivery for the Next Decade (CVADD): Heidelberg, Germany, 10-12 October 2007
Host mediated anti-tumor effect of oncolytic Newcastle disease virus after locoregional application
Recombinant Newcastle disease virus (NDV) with inserted gene coding for GM-CSF as a new vector for cancer immunogene therapy
Role of tumor endothelium in CD4+ CD25+ regulatory T cell infiltration of human pancreatic carcinoma
Tumor infiltrating T lymphocytes in colorectal cancer: Tumor-selective activation and cytotoxic activity in situ
Tumor selective replication of Newcastle disease virus: association with defects of tumor cells in antiviral defence
A tumor vaccine containing anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 bispecific antibodies triggers strong and durable antitumor activity in human lymphocytes
Tumor-targeted gene transfer in vivo via recombinant Newcastle disease virus modified by a bispecific fusion protein
T-cell triggering by CD3- and CD28-binding molecules linked to a human virus-modified tumor cell vaccine
Selective gene transfer in vitro to tumor cells via recombinant Newcastle disease virus
Selective gene transfer to tumor cells by recombinant Newcastle Disease Virus via a bispecific fusion protein
Antitumor vaccination in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinomas with autologous virus-modified tumor cells
Clinical trials of antitumor vaccination with an autologous tumor cell vaccine modified by virus infection: improvement of patient survival based on improved antitumor immune memory
Antitumor vaccination of patients with glioblastoma multiforme: a pilot study to assess feasibility, safety, and clinical benefit
High cell surface expression of Newcastle disease virus proteins via replicon vectors demonstrates syncytia forming activity of F and fusion promotion activity of HN molecules
Importance of serine 200 for functional activities of the hemagglutinin-neuraminidase protein of Newcastle Disease Virus
TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand mediates tumoricidal activity of human monocytes stimulated by Newcastle disease virus
Cognate interactions between memory T cells and tumor antigen-presenting dendritic cells from bone marrow of breast cancer patients: bidirectional cell stimulation, survival and antitumor activity in vivo
Influence of adjuvant hormone therapy and chemotherapy on the immune system analysed in the bone marrow of patients with breast cancer
Editorial by Prof. Dr. Volker Schirrmacher on the article "Immunotherapeutic strategies for the treatment of solid tumors"
Human tumor cell infection by Newcastle Disease Virus leads to upregulation of HLA and cell adhesion molecules and to induction of interferons, chemokines and finally apoptosis
Generation of dendritic cells from human bone marrow mononuclear cells: advantages for clinical application in comparison to peripheral blood monocyte derived cells
Antitumor effects of Newcastle Disease Virus in vivo: local versus systemic effects
Tumor stimulator cell modification by infection with Newcastle Disease Virus: analysis of effects and mechanism in MLTC-CML cultures
Human tumor cell modification by virus infection: an efficient and safe way to produce cancer vaccine with pleiotropic immune stimulatory properties when using Newcastle disease virus
Introduction of adhesive and costimulatory immune functions into tumor cells by infection with Newcastle Disease Virus
Tumor-cell number and viability as quality and efficacy parameters of autologous virus-modified cancer vaccines in patients with breast or ovarian cancer