Innovative Brain Tumor Vaccine Offers New Hope
.By John Ohlfest, PhD.
Recently, a multidisciplinary group of researchers at the University of Minnesota has developed a new type of vaccine that stimulates that body’s own immune system to enter the brain and kill brain tumor cells. In animals, this vaccine was able to cure a significant proportion with established brain tumors. Now, with funding from Children’s Cancer Research Fund, the team is moving this treatment strategy into humans for testing.
To fully appreciate the significance of this finding, it’s important to better understand brain tumors. There are nearly 200,000 newly diagnosed brain tumors in North America each year. Of these, approximately 75 percent spread into the brain (metastases) and the remaining 50,000 tumors originate in the brain (primary). Primary brain tumors are the leading cause of cancer death in children and fourth leading cause in adults. Malignant primary tumors are very difficult to treat because they spread diffusively into normal brain structures, making a surgical cure nearly impossible.
In addition, the side effects of standard therapy consisting of surgery, radiation and chemotherapy are often severe and debilitating. There is an urgent need to develop novel therapies that have greater tumor-specificity and reduced toxicity.
This new vaccine will target the rare “brain tumor initiating cell.” Since brain tumor initiating cells appear to be the cause of therapy resistance and disease recurrence, the vaccine may increase chances of cure with fewer side effects. The University of Minnesota Brain Tumor Research Program has the potential to benefit both children and adults suffering with brain tumors. The general strategy is being developed for other cancers, as well.