Researchers Target Cancer Stem Cells in Malignant Brain Tumors

According to researchers at the Cedars-Sinai Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute and Department of Neurosurgery, they have identified immune system targets via cancer stem cells and worked to create an experimental vaccine in order to attack them.

As normal stem cells have the ability to self-renew and regenerate new cells, so do cancer stem cells, unfortunately. However, these cancerous tissues do not produce healthy cells. Yet by identifying certain fragments of a protein known as CD133 that's found on the cancer stem cells of some brain tumors and other cancers, researchers worked to stimulate an immune response against the proteins without causing harmful side effects that destroy an autoimmune reaction against normal cells or organs.

"CD133 is one of several proteins made at high levels in the cancer stem cells of glioblastoma multiforme. Because this protein appears to be associated with resistance of the cancer stem cells to treatment with radiation or chemotherapy or both, we see it as an ideal target for immunotherapy. We have found at least two fragments of the protein that can be targeted to trigger an immune response to kill tumor cells. We don't know yet if the response would be strong enough to prevent a tumor from coming back, but we now have a human clinical trial underway to assess safety for further study," said John Yu, MD, vice chair of the Department of Neurosurgery, director of surgical neuro-oncology, medical director of the Brain Tumor Center and neurosurgical director of the Gamma Knife Program at Cedars-Sinai, who is also the senior study author, via a press release.

For patients diagnosed with glibolastoma multiforme, median length of survival is 15 months along with standard care that includes radiation treatment, surgery and chemotherapy.

More information regarding the study can be found via the journal Stem Cells Translational Medicine.