New Biomarkers for Brain Tumor Treatment Response Discovered

Biomarkers using mass cytometry were found to assess patient response to an emerging vaccine for glioma, a specific pediatric brain tumor, said a study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

The vaccine is safe and the biomarkers could improve clinical trials for the peptide vaccine, said study co-author Stewart Goldman, MD, Division Head of Hematology, Oncology, and Stem Cell Transplantation at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

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Glioblastomas are tumors that arise from astrocytes that make up the supportive tissue of the brain. Glioblastomas are usually highly malignant.

‘The peptide vaccine was well-tolerated with no serious adverse events in pediatric brain tumor.’

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“These findings will allow future trials to better understand whom to offer these therapies to, and what medications we need to avoid as to not decrease efficacy,” said Dr. Goldman, who is also the Meryl Suzanne Weiss Distinguished Professor in Hematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation and a member of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University.

Diffuse midline gliomas (DMG) and diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas (DIPG) are deadly brain cancers in children. Brain cancers affect less than 10 percent of patients who survive beyond two years.

Traditionally these gliomas are treated with radiation therapy, but in recent years immunotherapy treatments have gained attention.

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In previous studies, authors have created a peptide vaccine for diffuse gliomas. The peptide vaccine used a mutation common in diffuse gliomas to trigger an immune response targeted at cancer cells.

In the current study, researchers tested the safety and monitoring of the peptide vaccine, enrolling 29 patients. The peptide vaccine was well-tolerated with no serious adverse events.

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Immunological responses using mass cytometry on blood cells were measured. Mass cytometry helped researchers count how many T-cells were reactive to cancer. Mass cytometry on blood samples is a viable surveillance method, according to study authors.

“We showed that immunologic monitoring of patients receiving the vaccine therapy can reveal predictive biomarkers for response and efficacy,” Dr. Goldman said.

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“This study clearly warrants further investigation and I hope using cytometry and other methodologies to monitor response will guide physicians in their therapeutic choices in the future,” Dr. Goldman said.

Source-Medindia