Australian researchers have found a drug combination that can bypass the cellular defenses in neuroblastoma that lead to relapse, and the discovery could lead to better treatment strategies for children whose cancers have stopped responding to standard chemotherapy.
Neuroblastoma is a pediatric extracranial solid tumor arising from the sympathetic nervous system. Disialoganglioside GD2-based therapies, including CAR T cells and other immunotherapies, have shown some success. However, GD2 is also expressed on pain fibers and other neurons, raising safety concerns, and relapses after anti-GD2 therapy are frequent.
Australian researchers have found a drug combination that can bypass the cellular defenses in neuroblastoma that lead to relapse, and the discovery could lead to better treatment strategies for children whose cancers have stopped responding to standard chemotherapy.
Myrio Therapeutics Pty Ltd. has been able to accomplish something no other company has yet been able to crack: to develop binders where both the affinity and the specificity can be increased.
Myrio Therapeutics Pty Ltd. has been able to accomplish something no other company has yet been able to crack: to develop binders where both the affinity and the specificity can be increased.
Myrio Therapeutics Pty Ltd. has been able to accomplish something no other company has yet been able to crack: to develop binders where both the affinity and the specificity can be increased.
Polo-like kinase 4 (PLK4), which regulates centriole duplication and mitotic progression, is overexpressed in several cancers, including neuroblastoma as well as breast, lung and colorectal cancers, making it an attractive target. Several PLK4 inhibitors have been developed, but only one has entered clinical trials, which involve patients with acute myeloid or chronic myelomonocytic leukemia.
Myrio Therapeutics Pty Ltd. is set to advance lead product PHOX2B PC-CAR T (PHOX2B peptide-centric chimeric antigen receptor autologous T cells) into clinical trials for relapsed neuroblastoma following IND clearance by the FDA. The first patient will be enrolled around mid-year.
Neuroblastoma is a pediatric solid tumor characterized by dysregulation of the CDK-RB-E2F axis, leading to elevated E2F activity, uncontrolled progression through the G1/S transition and an aggressive tumor phenotype. Researchers from Circle Pharma Inc. and collaborators presented preclinical data on CID-078, a first-in-class oral macrocycle with dual cyclin A and B RxL inhibitory activity, in models of neuroblastoma.
Neuroblastoma, an aggressive malignancy originating from neural crest cells, accounts for 15% of cancer-related deaths in children. Treatment strategies include systemic chemotherapy, radiation or immunotherapy with anti-GD2 antibodies, all with severe side effects and long-term toxicity. Retinoic acid (RA) has been shown to promote neuroblastoma growth inhibition while suppressing MYCN oncogene expression. However, its effect is reversible, and tumor regrowth may occur.
