Dec 5, 2023 “Status of Research” Join Our Zoom Meeting—-> Details can be found on page “Meetings & Newsletter”
Dr Meshinchi explains the history behind Project Stella and why targeted therapies are so imperative in treating this disease.
Current therapies for many forms of childhood AML follow a fairly standard treatment protocol of several rounds of chemotherapy followed by a stem cell transplant. Chemotherapy is designed to kill fast-growing cells, both cancer cells and many types of healthy cells the immune system is reliant upon. Each round of chemotherapy leaves a child open to a variety of life-threatening infections, with no functional immune system to fight them. Furthermore, the vast majority of chemotherapies used in pediatric applications today are decades old and were developed for adult patients. Pediatric AML is an entirely different set of cancers, with different genetic makeups and treatment targets. As a result, they are not only toxic to the bodies of small children, but are largely ineffective because they fail to recognize the unique attributes of pediatric AML.
This is especially true with CBF-GLIS AML. Traditional AML chemotherapies wipe out all cells, both healthy and cancerous, but yet the cancer persists. This means a child is subjected to multiple rounds of toxic chemo to fight it. Even if remission is secured and the child moves on to a stem cell transplant, the cancer itself hasn’t been adequately targeted and therefore is almost certain to come back. In essence, the lack of tailored and targeted treatments up front sets a transplant up for failure in the end.
Image at right: Aspen battling Veno-occlusive disease (VOD), one of the many life-threatening side effects of chemotherapy and bone marrow transplants.
In contrast to traditional treatment, targeted therapies like those being researched at Project Stella are designed to identify and kill only cancer cells. This leaves the body resilient and healthy; equipped to fight infections and illness. Most importantly, they are tailored to target mutations within the cancer cell itself, making it far more capable long term. They leverage what we know through genomic sequencing to understand and predict cancerous behavior to cure the child, for good.
Project Stella works closely with Dr. Soheil Meshinchi, a world-renowned pediatric AML expert at Fred Hutch Cancer Center to expedite precision medicine research. Dr. Meshinchi runs one of the only labs in the country developing cures for children facing the devastating diagnosis of high-risk AML. His research is tailored to pediatric cancers, aimed specifically at patients under 5 years old. Dr. Meshinchi’s research is focused on finding a treatment protocol that targets the cancer and does not bring the irreversible side effects. Moreover, these therapies will be brought to children on an expedited time frame, bypassing the decades it often takes to bring novel treatments to pediatric cancer patients.
Rapid progress has been made in the past few months at Project Stella, with many promising advances in view on the horizon.
Project Stella’s FOLR-1 CAR T is nearing the finish line. The Vector is currently in the process engineering stage, undergoing rigorous screening and testing to meet FDA clearance for clinical trial. We are on track to launch a clinical trial in early 2024. This CAR T will provide a potentially curative treatment for various forms of pediatric cancers, and it will spare children from toxic therapies in the first place.
STRO-002 has now been administered successfully (and safely) in 19 patients, with more children waiting to receive it. It continues to be effective across the board and doesn't cause neutropenia (dangerous suppression of the immune system), like chemotherapies. STRO-002 has proven how powerful precision medicine can be. Given its success in treating relapsed patients, efforts are being made to bring it to newly diagnosed patients, without chemotherapy.
A similar drug from Elucida will be going to trial in the next few months for pediatric patients battling AML and adult patients battling ovarian cancer. The preclinical data is compelling, and we are hopeful it will become an integral treatment in a new standard of care protocol for CBF/GLIS AML-RAM children.
CAR T cell therapy is a tailored form of immunotherapy that works by modifying the body's own T cells, a type of immune system cell that hunts and destroys abnormal cells. Scientists harvest T cells from patients, genetically alter them, then infuse the resulting CAR T cells into patients to attack cancerous cells. The CAR T cells then act as a "living drug" against cancer cells. When they come in contact with their targeted antigen on a cell, CAR T cells bind to it and become activated, then proliferate and become cytotoxic. In other words, they are cancer-fighting smart missiles.
Creating an effective CAR T is contingent on first identifying a suitable target. For safety, CAR T cells are engineered to be specific to an antigen expressed on a tumor that is not expressed on healthy cells. This is another reason genomic sequencing is so critical. Under the leadership of Dr. Meshinchi, sequencing has become part of pediatric AML protocol - advanced significantly in partnership with the LLS PEDAL initiative. Sequencing helps us understand the mutations underlying the disease, so vulnerabilities can be identified. As a result of Project Stella and the Hutch having the largest repository of pediatric leukemia samples, the Meshinchi Lab has identified several proteins that are highly expressed in AML RAM, like FOLR-1. Because FOLR-1 is found in high expressions on the outside of the cancer cell, it is ideally suited for immunotherapies. Moreover, it is not found on healthy cells.
Image: Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS)
* Other treatment centers only accept patients who fit into one of the trials they are focused on. Fred Hutch is often a place of last resort, willing to take on the toughest of cases.
* Fred Hutch is the leading recipient of NIH Funding among all of the 61 NCI designated Cancer Centers- these grants are awarded by an impartial scientific body. This speaks to the quality of the research at The Hutch.
* Fred Hutch, in partnership with the Global Oncology Group, is the holder of the largest repository of pediatric AML tumor samples in the world. This data is critical to finding cures and doing this research.
* Fred Hutch researchers consult with leading researchers at other facilities – typically on these extremely difficult cases.
Fred Hutch performs research on rare types of pediatric AML, while the majority of AML research is on Adult AML. Pediatric and adult AML are in no way similar.
* Over 1.3M bone marrow transplants have been done worldwide. This process was developed at Fred Hutch who also provided the training required at other locations.
* Drs. E. Donnall Thomas (1990), Lee Hartwell (2001) and Linda Buck (2004). Each received the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine and further cemented Fred Hutch’s reputation for scientific innovation and excellence.Use this space to add more details about your site, a customer quote, or to talk about important news.
Dec 5, 2023 “Status of Research” Join Our Zoom Meeting—-> Details can be found on page “Meetings & Newsletter”
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