Around 200,000 people die from glioblastoma, the most common and most aggressive type of cancerous brain tumor, each year. With a five-year overall survival rate of less than 10 percent, it should come as no surprise that treatments for this devastating disease are highly sought-after. Now, recent research published in The New England Journal of Medicine points to a potential beacon of hope: CAR-T cell therapy, a novel form of immunotherapy that could reduce tumor size. Read on to find out more about the impact of this groundbreaking trial, dubbed the INCIPIENT trial.
What Is CAR-T Cell Therapy?
Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy (CAR-T therapy) is a form of immunotherapy, a type of cancer treatment that utilizes the body’s own immune system to eliminate tumor cells. Originally approved to treat cancers of the blood, CAR-T cell therapy is a highly versatile form of treatment. For the glioblastoma study, researchers identified two separate antigens — proteins on the surface of glioblastoma-specific cancer cells — to target using the body’s existing immune cells. The therapy was dubbed CARv3-TEAM-E T Cells, and it targeted two primary proteins: one known as EGFRv3 and another known as “wild” EGFR. To target these proteins, the researchers used a modified version of a CAR-T cell with the goal of shrinking glioblastoma in three separate patients.
Evaluating the Effects of CAR-T Cell Therapy
The three trial participants had all received some form of standard care for glioblastoma, which generally includes surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, or a combination of all three. Unfortunately, each of the participants exhibited a recurrent form of cancer after receiving treatment, which brought them to the CAR-T trial.
All three patients received an infusion of the specialized CAR T-cells, and all saw a dramatic response relatively quickly. Using MRI imaging, the research team observed major tumor regression after the infusion, with near-complete regression in one case. However, the long-term treatment response varied between participants. Per the research team, only one patient showed long-lasting regression, while the other two patients saw tumor recurrence shortly after ceasing treatment.
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Ultimately, while CAR-T cell treatment showed significant shrinkage in tumors, questions remain about the drug’s efficacy over time, given the trial’s mixed results. Considering the rate of tumor recurrence in this relatively limited study, CAR-T treatment should not be treated as a “miracle drug.” Rather, the research team regards this treatment as a step in the right direction toward reducing the impact of glioblastoma. To determine the protocol’s potential value as a future treatment option, the research team will need to test the treatment in a much larger group of patients.
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