The research was a promising step forward in treating DIPG, Associate Professor Jenkins said.
“This lays the groundwork for us to interrogate thousands of potential therapies for anti-cancer immune cells to fight DIPG,” she said.
“Other studies have demonstrated this treatment approach is safe in children, so we are hopeful it won’t be long before it is clinically available.”
The research was made possible in part by funding from the Victorian Paediatric Cancer Consortium, Isabella & Marcus Foundation, Robert Connor Dawes Foundation and The Brain Cancer Centre.
The study, “HER2 Chimeric Antigen Receptor T cell immunotherapy is an effective treatment for Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma”, is published in Neuro-Oncology Advances (DOI: 10.1093/noajnl/vdad024).
WEHI authors: Stacie Wang, Alexander Davenport, Melinda Iliopoulos, Hannah Hughes-Parry, Katherine Watson, Valeria Arcucci, Matthias Mulazzani, Ryan Cross and Misty Jenkins.
Header image L-R: Dr Alex Davenport, Associate Professor Misty Jenkins, Dr Stacie Wang and Melinda Iliopoulos. Credit: WEHI