A 72-year-old man diagnosed with a highly aggressive glioblastoma experienced a remarkable reduction in tumor size within days of receiving a novel CAR T-cell therapy infusion. Though two other participants showed fewer positive outcomes, the success of this case holds promise for treating this otherwise incurable cancer.
Glioblastomas, emerging from supporting cells in the central nervous system, are typically fatal, claiming up to 95% of patients within five years. Researchers from Mass General Cancer Centre in the US explored CAR T-cell therapy, which re-engineers a patient’s immune cells to target cancerous cells, as a potential solution.
CAR T-cell therapy, effective in blood cancers, holds promise for glioblastomas by recognizing surface markers on cancer cells. However, glioblastomas present challenges due to their various disguises. To address this, researchers developed a method to target non-variant epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFRs), commonly found in cancer cells.
In a phase 1 clinical trial named INCIPIENT, three patients with EGFR-expressing glioblastomas received CARv3-TEAM-E T-cell infusions. While two patients saw temporary reductions in tumor size before relapse, the third, a 72-year-old man, showed no signs of recurrence, with manageable side effects. The study, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, underscores the potential of CAR T-cell therapy in glioblastoma treatment. Though long-term efficacy remains uncertain, continued research and clinical trials offer hope for patients facing this deadly cancer.