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A Protocol for Rapid Post-mortem Cell Culture of Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma DIPG
Published on: March 7, 2017
Oncolytic DNX-2401 Virus for Pediatric Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma
Jaime Gállego Pérez-Larraya1, Marc Garcia-Moure1, Sara Labiano1
1From the Health Research Institute of Navarra (J.G.P.-L., M.G.-M., S.L., A.P.-G., M.G.-H., M.Z., L.M., N.M.-V., M.P., V.L., S.H.-S., I.T., B.T., R.H.-A., M.V., C.A., S.T., M.M.A.), the Program in Solid Tumors (J.G.P.-L., M.G.-M., S.L., A.P.-G., M.G.-H., M.Z., L.M., N.M.-V., M.P., V.L., B.T., S.T., M.M.A.), the Program in Immunology (S.H.-S.), and the Program in Gene Therapy and Regulation of Gene Expression (R.H.-A.), Foundation for the Applied Medical Research, the Departments of Neurology (J.G.P.-L., I.E.V.), Pediatrics (M.G.-M., S.L., A.P.-G., M.G.-H., M.Z., L.M., N.M.-V., M.P., V.L., M.M.A.), Pathology (M.V., C.A.), and Neurosurgery (S.T.) and the Division of Biostatistics, Research Support Service, Central Clinical Trials Unit (J.M.N.-C.), Clínica Universidad de Navarra, the Service of Pediatric Hemato-Oncology, Hospital Universitario de Navarra (M.O.L.), Center for Applied Medical Research (CIMA) LAB Diagnostics, University of Navarra and Healthcare Research Institute of Navarra (G.A.-A.), and the Bioinformatics Platform, CIMA, University of Navarra (I.T.), Pamplona, the Department of Pediatric Oncology, Biocruces Bizkaia Health Research Institute, Barakaldo (I.A.), the Pediatric Department, Faculty of Medicine and Nursing, University of the Basque Country, Leioa (I.A.), the Department of Pediatric Oncology, Montepríncipe Hospital (B.L.-I.), the Department of Neurosurgery, Quirón Hospitals (R.D.-V., S.T.), and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Cáncer (M.V.), Madrid, the Department of Pediatric Oncology, Neuro-Oncology Unit, Hospital Sant Joan de Deu, Barcelona (O.C.), and the Department of Pathology, University Hospital Virgen Macarena and School of Medicine, University of Seville, Seville (M.Á.I.) - all in Spain; DNAtrix, Carlsbad, CA (J.D., B.E., J.R.); the Division of Molecular Pathology, Institute of Cancer Research, London (C.J.); the Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, Utrecht, the Netherlands (G.D., C.R.-M., H.S., E.H., J.L.); and the Departments of Neuro-Oncology (J.F., C.G.-M.) and Neurosurgery (F.F.L.), University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston.
Oncolytic virus DNX-2401 shows promise for treating diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) in children, with some patients experiencing tumor shrinkage and improved survival. Further research is needed to optimize this oncolytic viral therapy.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Oncology
- Virology
- Immunotherapy
Background:
- Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) in pediatric patients carries a poor prognosis, with limited treatment options.
- Oncolytic viral therapy has shown potential in other pediatric brain gliomas, but data specific to DIPG is scarce.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the safety and tolerability of DNX-2401, an oncolytic adenovirus, in pediatric patients with newly diagnosed DIPG.
- To evaluate the efficacy of DNX-2401 in terms of overall survival, objective response rate, and quality of life.
- To investigate the molecular and immunological changes induced by DNX-2401 in DIPG tumors and peripheral blood.
Main Methods:
- A single-center, dose-escalation study involving 12 pediatric patients with newly diagnosed DIPG.
- Intratumoral administration of DNX-2401 via cerebellar peduncle catheter, followed by radiotherapy.
- Monitoring of adverse events, tumor response via MRI, overall survival, and collection of samples for correlative analyses.
Main Results:
- DNX-2401 was administered at doses of 1x10^10 or 5x10^10 viral particles, with 11 patients receiving subsequent radiotherapy.
- Adverse events included headache, nausea, vomiting, and fatigue; hemiparesis/tetraparesis occurred in one patient each.
- Tumor size reduction was observed in 9 patients, with 3 partial responses and stable disease in 8. Median survival was 17.8 months, with 2 patients alive at follow-up.
Conclusions:
- Intratumoral DNX-2401 followed by radiotherapy in pediatric DIPG patients induced T-cell activity changes and tumor response in some.
- The treatment demonstrated a manageable safety profile with notable clinical activity, warranting further investigation.
- Findings suggest potential for oncolytic virotherapy in DIPG, with observed alterations in the tumor microenvironment and T-cell repertoire.

