GPC2 Directed Immunotherapies for Neuroblastoma and Other Pediatric Cancers
Project Title: GPC2 Directed Immunotherapies for Neuroblastoma and Other Pediatric Cancers
Researcher: Kris Bosse, MD
Institution: Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP)
Study Type: Preclinical
Project Summary
Immunotherapy is an important area of study for pediatric cancer treatments. While there are clear advances for leukemia, the same improvement has not yet been seen in solid tumors. New molecular markers have been identified to target these difficult-
to-treat tumors. The protein GPC2 has been found in abundance on neuroblastoma and other tumor types and, importantly, is not present on normal tissue cells. A new CART with GPC2 receptor is being tested in the lab on pediatric cancers. The researchers are also
developing a rapid test to determine the level of expression of GPC2 to identify patients that
might benefit.
Impact
This work is expected to lead to first-in-human trials for this promising, newly discovered approach, which would introduce a new immunotherapy treatment option for neuroblastoma patients and other GPC2 producing pediatric tumors.