City of Hope Launches CAR T-Cell Trial in Patients With Breast Cancer and Brain Metastases
Posted: Wednesday, November 21, 2018
It is estimated that nearly half of all women with HER2-positive breast cancer will eventually develop brain metastases. A new City of Hope chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell clinical trial, reportedly the first to focus on this patient population, is now enrolling potential participants. The current standard of care for treating brain metastases in these women is HER2-targeted agents and/or radiation therapy.
The phase I trial will be conducted in an outpatient setting and will also be the first to use intraventricular delivery of CAR T cells directly to the brain. It will test the safety and effectiveness of CAR T-cell therapy for patients who have become resistant to other forms of treatment.
“For a woman who already has breast cancer, learning that a brain tumor has developed can be a frightening diagnosis because there are few treatment options available. CAR T-cell therapy may be another tool in our fight against this devastating disease,” said Jana Portnow, MD, City of Hope Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Medical Oncology & Therapeutics Research and Associate Director of the Brain Tumor Program. Dr. Portnow and Saul Priceman, PhD, Assistant Research Professor in City of Hope’s T-cell immunotherapy program, are leading this CAR T-cell trial.
