Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center is making significant strides in cellular therapies, focusing on enhancing safety, efficacy, and accessibility for patients with blood cancers and solid tumors. With the expansion of its GMP Engineering & Cell Manufacturing Facility, Roswell Park aims to accelerate the translation of laboratory innovations into clinical applications.
Expanding Cellular Therapy for Solid Tumors
While CAR T-cell therapies have shown success in treating blood cancers like leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma, their application to solid tumors remains a challenge. Dr. Renier Brentjens and his team at Roswell Park are dedicated to overcoming the defenses of solid tumors, which are protected by a tumor microenvironment composed of blood vessels, immune cells, and fibroblasts.
"We're moving these therapies from the laboratory to the clinic," says Dr. Brentjens, Deputy Director and the Katherine Anne Gioia Endowed Chair in Cancer Medicine at Roswell Park. "We anticipate that at some point in the foreseeable future, we will have a clinical trial available for any person with any type of cancer that has relapsed or is resistant to treatment."
Armored CAR T-cell Therapy
To address the challenges posed by solid tumors, Roswell Park is evaluating a new "armored CAR" T-cell therapy in a clinical trial led by Dr. Francisco Hernandez-Ilizaliturri. This therapy involves re-engineering patients' T cells with a CAR to target CD19-positive cancer cells and a gene that stimulates the production of IL-12, potentially enhancing the immune system's ability to combat cancer.
This clinical trial marks the first time patient T cells will be manufactured in Roswell Park’s Engineering & Cell Manufacturing Facility. The expansion of this facility will make it the largest of its kind in New York State and the largest within any academic institution nationwide.
Future Cellular Therapy Trials
Roswell Park investigators anticipate the opening of additional cellular therapy clinical trials, including:
- An "armored CAR" therapy targeting DLL3 in small-cell lung cancer.
- A CAR T-cell therapy targeting LRRC15 in pediatric and adult sarcomas.
- A CAR T-cell therapy targeting CD83 in acute myeloid leukemia and Hodgkin lymphoma.
Improving Safety in Stem Cell Transplants
In addition to CAR T-cell therapies, Roswell Park researchers are focused on improving the safety of stem cell transplants. A study led by Dr. Shernan Holtan demonstrated that a cyclophosphamide-based drug combination reduced the risk of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) by 50%. This finding, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, is expected to change the standard treatment for patients undergoing allogeneic stem cell transplants.
