New approach to CAR T cell therapy for brain cancer

Australian researchers have devised a novel approach to immunotherapy design that could pave the way for new treatments for people with an aggressive form of brain cancer called glioblastoma, using chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy to completely clear brain cancer tumours in preclinical models.

Led by The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI) and published in the journal Clinical & Translational Immunology, the new research is a crucial step towards developing new immunotherapy treatments for this devastating illness.

CAR T cell therapy is a new type of immunotherapy that uses the body’s own T cells to fight infection. It is one of the greatest advancements in cancer therapy in decades and has proven to be effective against blood cancers such as B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) and adult diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). There are currently more than 600 CAR T cell therapy clinical trials worldwide.

“This approach of immunotherapy harnesses the patient’s white blood cells to recognise and destroy their own cancer,” explained Associate Professor Misty Jenkins, leader of the new research. Her team’s approach uses a new type of CAR T cell receptor that has superior properties to other versions of the therapy.

“Current CAR T cell approaches have relied on repurposing existing antibodies,” Assoc Prof Jenkins continued. “We have created our own, high-affinity specific receptors, which enable them to bind very tightly to the cells.

“We found this approach completely cleared the tumour in preclinical models of brain cancer in the laboratory.”

Assoc Prof Jenkins said the research team is now looking to progress the proof-of-concept research through to clinical trials, which would be the first of their kind in Australia for brain cancer.

“CAR T cell immunotherapy is still very new, but it has enormous potential, and we are excited about its future applications,” she said.

“This won’t necessarily be the silver bullet for brain cancer, but I envision this treatment could potentially be used in combination with other therapies in the future, offering hope to people diagnosed with this insidious disease.”

In conjunction with this research, the team is also working on developing further enhanced CAR T candidates, which would be the first of their kind, paving the way for novel therapies for patients with solid tumours.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/peterschreiber.media

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