Susanna Fletcher Greer, Chief Scientific Officer of the V Foundation, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“Every September, we pause to honor children and families impacted by cancer, and to highlight the urgent need for better treatments. Today, I want to share a powerful example of how research is leading us toward more effective, safer options for kids with some of the toughest forms of leukemia.
A new study from the lab of Dr. Sarah K Tasian and team at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia supported by the V Foundation, tackles a heartbreaking problem: children with Ph-like acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and Down syndrome–associated ALL often relapse, even after receiving the most advanced treatments like CAR T cell therapy.
Relapse means cancer comes roaring back, and for these children, options are limited.
Dr. Tasian and team asked: Can we stop relapse before it starts?
Here’s what they did:
They engineered a new type of CAR T cell therapy that targets a protein (called TSLPR) often found on these leukemias. They combined it with a drug called ruxolitinib, which is already used to calm overactive immune responses. They discovered the right sequence of giving these two together could do two things at once:
Control dangerous side effects that sometimes make CAR T therapy risky. Strengthen the long-term ability of CAR T cells to keep leukemia from coming back.
Think of what they did like building a “smart shield” around CAR T therapy, making it powerful enough to attack cancer, but flexible enough to pull back when inflammation gets too high.
Why this matters: Children with Ph-like ALL and Down syndrome–associated ALL face higher relapse rates and harsher side effects from chemotherapy. This study offers a path toward safer, more durable remissions. Clinical trials based on this work are now opening, bringing new hope to families.
At the V Foundation, we wrap children and families in love, and in science. Discoveries like this are what that looks like: love transformed into lifesaving innovation.
As we mark Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, let’s celebrate the brilliant minds pushing the boundaries of science, and recommit ourselves to funding the breakthroughs that children deserve.”
Title: Co-targeting of the thymic stromal lymphopoietin receptor to decrease immunotherapeutic resistance in CRLF2-rearranged Ph-like and Down syndrome acute lymphoblastic leukemia
Authors: Tommaso Balestra, Lisa M. Niswander, Asen Bagashev, Joseph P. Loftus, Savannah L. Ross, Robert K. Chen, Samantha M. McClellan, Jacob J. Junco, Diego A. Bárcenas López, Karen R. Rabin, Terry J. Fry, Sarah K. Tasian
Read the Full Article.
More posts featuring Susanna Fletcher Greer on OncoDaily.