Boston researchers testing vaccine for deadly brain cancer

BOSTON -- It is one of the most-feared of cancer diagnoses: Glioblastoma.

“This is the most drug-resistant, treatment-resistant, adaptive cancer on the planet,” said David Arons, President and CEO of the National Brain Tumor Society (NBTS), based in Newton.

It’s also one of the most deadly. The NBTS reports the five-year survival rate for glioblastoma is under seven percent. While some patients survive 12-18 months, the average lifespan, post-diagnosis, is just eight months. And even though glioblastoma was identified about a hundred years ago, few therapies exist for the disease.

“It’s a disease that’s been quite infamous in the last ten years, with, sadly, Senator Ted Kennedy, Beau Biden and Senator John McCain being three famous people, national leaders who have faced glioblastoma,” Arons said. “But it affects all too many Americans -- about 13,000 each year.”

One of those diagnosed with glioblastoma in recent years: Heather Walker, Vice-President of Public Relations for the Boston Celtics. She first noticed symptoms about 18 months ago while running a press conference at the team’s practice facility.

“I got a headache, I became disoriented -- feeling just off, and I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with me,” said Walker. “I did the press conference... left on the elevator and then I hit a car on the way out.”

It was just a fender-bender, but Walker said she was alarmed about her symptoms.

“I was scared, I was really scared,” she said. “And I went home and said to my mother, there’s something wrong with me. And she said, ``Well I noticed you put potato chips in the refrigerator.”

Walker wound up going to the hospital where she was diagnosed with Stage IV Glioblastoma. She underwent two surgeries, as well as other treatments. After her diagnosis, Walker established the #Move4Heather campaign, which has raised more than $600,000 for glioblastoma research.

“I feel good, but unfortunately you get a lot of dizziness with this,” Walker said. “And obviously a lot of anxiety with the diagnosis.”

Walker also suffered a loss of peripheral vision in her right eye.

“Technically I could drive, but I probably shouldn’t,” she said.

“It’s really tough,” Walker said. “Because I have two young kids, Sammy and Taylor, who are my little gems.”

But this week, Walker -- and others with glioblastoma -- got some hopeful news. Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital announced testing of a vaccine against glioblastoma that, unusually, uses live cancer cells instead of what other cancer vaccines have relied on -- attenuated ones. Those live cells are genetically engineered to do two things: to kill existing tumor cells and to stimulate the immune system to develop antibodies against future glioblastoma cells.

“When you arm these tumor cells with therapeutics that can kill the original tumor cells and then activate the immune system against the tumor you’re actually making it sort of a four-pronged approach,” said Brigham and Women’s Hospital researcher Khalid Shah, MD, PhD, director of the Center for Stem Cell and Translational Immunotherapy and vice chair of research in the Department of Neurosurgery at the Brigham “Using gene engineering, we are repurposing cancer cells to develop a therapeutic that kills tumor cells and stimulates the immune system to both destroy primary tumors and prevent cancer.”

Shah explained that the vaccine works to kill tumors because cancer cells have an attraction to each other.

“If you take the same tumor cell and color code it, let’s say one red and one green,” Shah said.

And put those cells into two different hemispheres of the brain, they love to come to each other.”

In the case of the vaccine, the cells that ‘come to’ the tumor have been re-engineered to kill the tumor.

Shah said that, so far, there’s no evidence injecting these live cancer cells can trigger cancer -- though more study is needed. But he said researchers added two safety ‘kill switches’ to the living cells in the vaccine -- such that they can be eliminated if there’s any evidence of ‘rogue’ proliferation.

As for when such a therapeutic might be available for human use -- Shah estimates, if all goes well, three to five years.

That would be none too soon, said Arons.

“We’re going to be doing everything possible to bring these treatments forward, faster,” he said. “To find out what’s going to work and deliver those breakthroughs for patients because it’s a disease that we’ve got to stop. It is a disease that can affect any American at any time. And we’ve got to stop it.”

Walker said she was so excited about the prospect of a vaccine for glioblastoma that she lost sleep this week. Her main concern is how long it might take for patients to benefit.

“I want hope for glioblastoma patients all over the world,” she said. “There’s so many of us. And I have so many friends that have glioblastoma. One just passed away the other day. They’re passing away quickly and we need the support, we need the help to cure this today. We can’t wait any longer. Glio doesn’t wait for us.”

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