High-grade gliomas are rare malignant tumors that account for up to 12% of all pediatric brain tumors.
Researchers from the US and UK are investigating a new type of cancer therapy that combines a herpes virus with a cancer vaccine to treat brain tumours in children as part of a £1.1 million funded project.
The project combines a genetically modified herpes virus with a cancer vaccine to destroy brain cancer cells in pediatric patients with high-grade glioma.
Accounting for up to 12% of all childhood brain tumors, high-grade gliomas are rare malignant tumors that form in the brain or spinal cord.
Children now have to undergo treatments originally developed for adults, such as radiation therapy and chemotherapy, which can have negative effects on their developing brains.
The project is funded by LifeArc and CureSearch for Children’s Cancer and led by experts at MD Anderson Cancer Center and other institutions in the United States and United Kingdom.
Researchers plan to use genetically engineered herpes simplex virus type 1 to invade cancer cells and replicate rapidly, exposing them to the immune system and destroying them.
In a small Phase 1 trial, 11 of 12 children responded to the virus and had increased numbers of immune-boosting white blood cells in their tumors.
Researchers are now aiming to combine the virus with a cancer vaccine known as SNAPvax to stimulate the body’s immune system to attack cancer cells, potentially prolonging the virus’s effects. This dual effect has already been observed in non-CNS adult tumors.
If successful, this new treatment will be tested in the clinic within the next two years and will help guide the design of other cancer treatments that are urgently needed to improve survival and minimize long-term side effects for pediatric patients.
“Our findings suggest that the painful virus stimulates an immune response against the tumor,” said lead researcher Dr. Gregory Friedman, a pediatric hematologist/oncologist at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
