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Neuroblastoma is one of the most common pediatric tumors, responsible for 12% of all cancer deaths in children under 15 years old. Only about 50% of patients with widespread neuroblastoma will live for ten years after diagnosis. A recent breakthrough in cancer treatments known as CAR T cell therapy reprograms a patient’s own immune cells to recognize tumor cells. While CAR T cell monotherapy works for some cancer types, several research studies using CAR T cells to treat neuroblastoma have been relatively unsuccessful. This is likely due to immune suppression caused by the tumor itself. Interestingly, it is known that if a person with cancer develops an infection, the infection can stimulate an immune response that will promote cancer remission. With this knowledge, Dr. Kudek and colleagues have pioneered an innovative technique to boost CAR T cell therapy response. They have shown that the cancer-destroying function of reprogrammed immune cells is boosted when a weakened infection is introduced into a tumor and found that this treatment combination in bladder cancer led to cure in most of the disease models. Encouraged by these findings, he is pursuing proof-of-principle studies to determine how this treatment approach can be best applied to neuroblastoma treatment.

This grant is named for the LukeStrong a Force Against Neuroblastoma Childhood Cancer Fund. When Luke was 5 years old, he was diagnosed with high-risk neuroblastoma. He is now in his teens and still in active treatment for relapsed neuroblastoma. Since 2014 Luke’s “Never tell me the odds” attitude has inspired his family and friends to shave their heads, fundraise with St. Baldrick’s, and help conquer childhood cancers.