Personalized Immunotherapy Against Glioblastoma, the Most Aggressive Brain Cancerwith a survival rate of less than 2% after 10 years from diagnosis. Opening up new treatment prospects is the Gliomatch program funded by the European Community, in which the IRCCS Besta Neurological Institute in Milan participates. The largest research consortium on patients with glioblastoma multiforme and pediatric high-grade gliomas is involved, consisting of 8 European clinical centers. Besta describes the project on the occasion of Glioblastoma Awareness Day.
Several clinical trials suggest that a subgroup of patients may benefit from immunotherapy, particularly that which uses dendritic cells. The research program starts from this observation, which aims to identify the type of patients for whom this strategy may be useful. A difficult mission because for glioblastoma there are still no measurable biomarkers, ‘indicators’ of the presence of the tumor, its evolution and response to treatment. “Today, almost 20% of patients affected by adult glioblastoma and high-grade pediatric glioma can benefit from personalized treatment based on the characteristics of their tumor. But in the absence of adequate biomarkers, many receive suboptimal immunotherapy applications”, explain Besta. The Gliomatch team wants to overcome this problem “by analyzing, through a specially built platform, the clinical molecular and radiological data of patients already treated in the past with immunotherapy”.
In particular, a note explains, “the largest cohort of patients with high-grade gliomas treated with immunotherapy (about 300)” will be examined. The consortium “will exploit the power of data by integrating spatially resolved multi-slice tissue maps with non-invasive magnetic resonance imaging, creating a state-of-the-art multiomics magnetic resonance radio hub. This will allow physicians to classify individuals based on their immune system characteristics and interpret treatment efficacy with unprecedented precision.”
“We are proud to be part of the Gliomatch project that I coordinate and in which doctors Serena Pellegatta, Valeria Cuccarini, Bianca Pollo and Catia Traversari also participate”, says Marica Eoli, neuro-oncologist of Neurology 2, head of Experimental Neuro-oncology at Besta. “The sharing of data between different specialist centers is essential to be able to rewrite the future of patients affected by these very aggressive forms of tumor”, she highlights.
“Besta – adds Eoli – has been involved for a long time in the research of personalized treatments against glioblastoma. The project also includes, after the analysis of retrospective studies, the start of a clinical trial that involves the administration of tetanus toxin associated with vaccination with dendritic cells sensitized to the patient’s own tumor. It is clear that only by joining forces and strengthening the collaborative efforts with our partners will we be able to improve treatments and advance research in this field”.
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