Experimental Cell Therapy: 4 Children with Deadly Brain Cancer Still Alive Years Later

An experimental cell therapy for one of the deadliest brain tumors in children, intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), and other aggressive brain tumors has shown promising results. In a Phase 1 clinical trial at a US hospital, 33 children and young adults received 'tumor-associated antigen T cell therapy (TAA-T)', an experimental immunotherapy. Four of the treated children are still alive years later, with no signs of the disease in three of them. Researchers multiplied the patient's own T cells in a laboratory and reprogrammed them to target three proteins commonly found in brain tumors. The cells were then given back to the patient through a vein. Pediatric neuro-oncologist Eugene Hwang said, 'These children are continuing to grow. It's really extraordinary.'