Australia launches a pioneering clinical trial to treat brain tumors in children
Australian researchers from the Children’s Cancer Center at Sydney Children’s Hospital, in cooperation with the University of South Australia, have developed an advanced clinical technology to treat brain tumors in children, in a step that is the first of its kind in Australia and the world.
The supervisor of the research team, Professor David Ziegler, explained that the technology relies on personalized vaccines using messenger RNA (mRNA) technology, which are designed specifically for each patient based on the genetic fingerprint of the brain tumor, which helps the immune system to recognize and target cancer cells with high accuracy, while reducing the effect on healthy tissues.
He pointed out that this technology targets rare and high-risk types of brain tumors in children, most notably diffuse pontine glioma (DIPG), which is diagnosed in about 20 children annually in Australia.
He explained that the experiment is being implemented within a research program called (PanDEV-VAX), which received funding worth 2.57 million Australian dollars from the Medical Research Future Fund, to support advanced clinical research in the field of pediatric brain tumors.
For her part, the researcher participating in the study, Dr. Tessa Gargett, confirmed that this experiment represents a promising step towards developing immunotherapy for brain tumors in children, expressing her hope that its results will contribute to expanding the treatment options available in the future and improving the chances of recovery.
