Flash Talk & Poster Presentation 32nd Lorne Cancer 2020

NOVEL EGFRvIII CAR T CELLS ARE AN EFFECTIVE TREATMENT FOR GLIOBLASTOMA (#101)

Rebecca C Abbott 1 , Kathy A Watson 1 , Bradley McColl 2 , Fiona Gracey 2 , Lucy C Sullivan 3 , Ryan N Cross 1 , Misty R Jenkins 1 4 5
  1. Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Parkville, VICTORIA, Australia
  2. Affinity Biosciences, Scoresby, Victoria, 3179
  3. Microbiology and Immunology, Peter Doherty Institute, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3052
  4. LIMS, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, 3086
  5. Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3052

Glioblastoma (GBM) is an aggressive and malignant form of glioma, with a dismal 5% five-year survival rate. The treatment for glioblastoma has largely remained unchanged for over a decade, with the last advance being the addition of a chemotherapeutic agent to a patient’s treatment regimen alongside radiotherapy. Immunotherapy provides a new therapeutic option to enhance cancer survival rates. One such therapy is Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T cell therapy, which has been incredibly successful in treating haematological cancers. EGFRvIII is a tumour specific mutation of EGFR, occurring in a subset of GBM as well as breast, ovarian and colon cancer.  We have identified and generated two EGFRvIII-specific scFv and have successfully generated specific and functional EGFRvIII-specific CAR T cells. Here, we provide both in vitro and in vivo data demonstrating therapeutic EGFRvIII-specific CAR T cells which have been used to successfully treat EGFRvIII-expressing glioblastoma in tumour bearing mice.