Scientists have developed a new strategy that has shown promise in fighting an extremely aggressive type of brain tumor.
The scientists did a pair of experiments on a handful of patients that proved effective in shrinking the tumors, Knewz.com has learned.
For the experiments, scientists took patients’ own immune cells and transformed them into “living drugs” that can recognize and attack glioblastoma, according to The Associated Press.
The procedure, known as CAR-T therapy, was already being used to treat blood-related cancers like Leukemia, but it was previously ineffective at treating cancer-related tumors.
Now, though, researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and the University of Pennsylvania are working on a next-generation CAR-T that can penetrate some of glioblastoma’s defenses.
“It’s very early days,” cautioned Penn’s Dr. Stephen Bagley, who led one of the studies. But “we’re optimistic that we’ve got something to build on here, a real foundation.”
Glioblastoma — which took the lives of President Joe Biden’s son Beau and longtime Arizona Sen. John McCain — is extremely deadly. Patients diagnosed with it usually live 12 to 18 months.
While there have been decades of research in an attempt to battle the cancer, few options to fight it after surgery and radiation have been successful.
Currently, T cells attempt to eliminate glioblastoma, but the cancer has ways to shield itself. With the CAR-T therapy, scientists are modifying patients’ own T cells so they become better hunters of the tumors.
Still, the treatment needs more work as the glioblastoma contains mixtures of cells and mutations, creating a constantly evolving process.
Mass General and Penn each created two-pronged approaches to the treatment.
At Mass General, Dr. Marcela Maus’ lab mixed CAR-T with T cell-engaging antibody molecules. Through that process, scientists found that the treatment, dubbed CAR-TEAM, can target proteins called EGFR that’s found in glioblastomas but not regular brain tissue.
Penn, meanwhile, created a “dual-target” CAR-T treatment that hunts for EGFR and another protein that’s found in many glioblastomas.
At both labs, the scientists infused the treatment through a catheter into fluid that bathes in the brain.
At Mass General, the scientists treated three patients with CAR-TEAM. The results showed that their tumors began getting smaller, improving brain health.
“None of us could really believe it,” Maus said. “That doesn’t happen.”
In two patients, the tumors began to grow again before an unsuccessful second dose was given. However, one patient’s response to the treatment lasted six months.
At Penn, the scientists tested six patients, who wound up with varying degrees of tumor shrinkage. Though some rapidly relapsed, one person treated in August didn’t see any regrowth.
“None of this is going to matter if it doesn’t last,” Bagley said.
Mass General’s report was published in the New England Journal of Medicine, while Penn’s results were published in Nature Medicine.
The post Brain Cancer Treatment Therapy: New Promising Method Modifies Patients’ Own Cells to Attack Tumors appeared first on Knewz.
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Author: David Wetzel
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