(Press-News.org) CLEVELAND—Finding an effective treatment for osteosarcoma, the most common type of bone cancer in children and young adults, has puzzled medical researchers for 40 years.
Now, a new study by researchers at Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals show some promising results.
The study, published in BMC Medicine, found that a specially engineered immune-cell treatment, called OSM CAR-T, successfully attacks osteosarcoma tumors in mouse models.
Osteosarcoma mainly strikes children, teenagers and young adults during periods of rapid bone growth, with about 1,000 new cases diagnosed nationally each year, according to The Osteosarcoma Institute.
The cause is unknown, but apparently linked to DNA changes in bone-forming cells and, in rare cases, genetics, according to the American Cancer Society.
“For the past 40 years, conventional therapies for osteosarcoma, which consist of chemotherapy and surgery, have not changed much,” said the study’s lead researcher Reshmi Parameswaran, associate professor in the Department of Medicine at the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, member of the Immune Oncology Program at the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, and scientist in the Division of Hematology and Oncology at UH Seidman Cancer Center. “Our new approach offers the possibility of a targeted treatment that harnesses the body’s own immune system to fight the cancer—potentially offering better outcomes with fewer side effects than traditional chemotherapy.”
CAR-T (Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell) therapy is an advanced treatment that reprograms a patient’s immune cells to recognize and destroy cancer cells. While CAR-T has revolutionized treatment for blood cancers like leukemia and lymphoma, it has proven far less effective against solid tumors like osteosarcoma.
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) notes that cancer cells in solid tumors are more complex, displaying different markers on their surfaces, which makes it difficult for CAR-T cells to find and attack all the cancer cells effectively.
But the research team solved this problem by creating a CAR-T cell that targets receptors of a protein—called Oncostatin M (OSM)—that appears on the surface of osteosarcoma cells. It represents a new approach to treat osteosarcoma, allowing the engineered immune cells to identify multiple receptors on cancer cells simultaneously.
“The OSM CAR-T cell therapy showed anti-tumor effects against all osteosarcoma patient samples tested,” Parameswaran said. “Tumor cells spreading to other organs in the body is a serious problem in osteosarcoma patients, making them non-responsive to most existing therapies. OSM CAR-T cells were effective in killing tumor cells spread to other organs in mouse models, which brings hope to these patients.”
Case Western Reserve’s collaborative research environment and institutional support made this discovery possible. The university’s Comprehensive Cancer Center and University Hospitals provide the infrastructure, expertise and resources necessary to develop innovative cancer immunotherapies.
The team anticipates the treatment will be tested in clinical trials within two years. If successful, the therapy could be offered as a new option, reduce the need for surgery and hope for patients with metastatic disease.
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About Case Western Reserve University
At Case Western Reserve, one of the nation’s leading research universities, we’re driven to seek knowledge and find solutions to some of the world’s most pressing problems. Nearly 6,200 undergraduate and 6,100 graduate students from across 96 countries study in our more than 250-degree programs across arts, dental medicine, engineering, law, management, medicine, nursing, science and social work. Our location in Cleveland, Ohio—a hub of cultural, business and healthcare activity—gives students unparalleled access to engaging academic, research, clinical, entrepreneurial and volunteer opportunities and prepares them to join our network of 125,000+ alumni making an impact worldwide. Visit case.edu to learn more.
About University Hospitals / Cleveland, Ohio
Founded in 1866, University Hospitals serves the needs of patients through an integrated network of more than 20 hospitals (including five joint ventures), more than 50 health centers and outpatient facilities, and over 200 physician offices in 16 counties throughout northern Ohio. The system’s flagship quaternary care, academic medical center, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, is affiliated with Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Oxford University, Taiwan National University College of Medicine and the Technion Israel Institute of Technology. The main campus also includes the UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital, ranked among the top children’s hospitals in the nation; UH MacDonald Women's Hospital, Ohio's only hospital for women; and UH Seidman Cancer Center, part of the NCI-designated Case Comprehensive Cancer Center. UH is home to some of the most prestigious clinical and research programs in the nation, with more than 3,000 active clinical trials and research studies underway. UH Cleveland Medical Center is perennially among the highest performers in national ranking surveys, including “America’s Best Hospitals” from U.S. News & World Report. UH is also home to 19 Clinical Care Delivery and Research Institutes. UH is one of the largest employers in Northeast Ohio with more than 30,000 employees. Follow UH on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. For more information, visit UHhospitals.org.
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