Ahhh... I'm starting to understand the correlations better now with regards to HER2+ and the significance of OmniCAR with regards to, for example, breast cancer and GBM! Bit of a lightbulb moment really (except for the fact that it has led me down another rabbit hole - aka the difference between mutations and metastasis)... arrrgh
Without going on too much of a tangent, I see why you say to "Looks like HER2+ is being investigated first"... becasue HER2+ is the antigen that is present in some breast cancers that can spread to other parts of the body such as the brain resulting in GBM.
Abstract
Development of brain metastases can occur in up to 30-50% of patients with breast cancer, representing a significant impact on an individual patient in terms of survival and quality of life. Patients with HER2-positive breast cancer have an increased risk of developing brain metastases; however, screening for brain metastases is not currently recommended due to the lack of robust evidence to support survival benefit. In recent years, several novel anti-HER2 agents have led to significant improvements in the outcomes of HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer. Despite these advances, brain and leptomeningeal metastases from HER2-positive breast cancer remain a significant cause of morbidity and mortality, and their optimal management remains an unmet need. This review presents an update on the current and novel treatment strategies for patients with brain metastases from HER2-positive breast cancer and discusses the open questions in the field.
Whilst HER2+ ovarian and gastric cancers rarely metastasize as secondary brain tumors, it seems, but its becoming more prevalent in ovarian cancer apparently.
Anyway, what the OmniCAR technology means is that it may be able to not only kill solid tumors such as breast cancer but also any mutating cancerous cells before and after they have formed GBM tumors in the brain. This is incredibly significant because its often the secondary cancer that ultimately kills a cancer patient.
"When cells become cancerous, they also become 100 times more likely to genetically mutate than regular cells, researchers have found. The findings may explain why cells in a tumor have so many genetic mutations, but could also be bad news for cancer treatments that target a particular gene controlling cancer malignancy."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070218194439.htmWe could be getting very close to finalising all our in-house OmniCAR programs in the preclinical phase. My bet would be for a Phase 1 clinical trial in HER2+ CarT breast/GBM cancer. Is that what you would be aniticipating could be in the wings for later in the year,
@dalts66?
