Through comprehensive testing in our lab, the Levi’s Project team, led by A/Prof David Ziegler and Dr Maria Tsoli, have now identified a whole series of therapies that are not only capable of killing DIPG cells, but are also very well tolerated. This is important, as we need to make sure that any new treatment we develop is safe to use in children, causing as few side effects as possible.
We’re particularly excited to share the results from our testing on a new type of therapy, called polyamine depletion therapy. We believe we may have found the Achilles heel of DIPG − a point of weakness that we can attack to great effect. In fact, this therapy is the most effective that we have ever seen in our laboratory models of DIPG.
As a result of our research, an international clinical trial of polyamine depletion therapy in children with DIPG is planned to begin next year, jointly led by Children’s Cancer Institute and Kids Cancer Centre at Sydney Children’s Hospital. Also very exciting is that Australia’s first-ever Phase I clinical trial aiming to test CAR T cells in children with DIPG − called ‘Levi’s CATCH’ trial − is currently in development. We can’t wait to share more news about the trials in the near future.