Israrul Ansari, PhD, senior scientist II, Division of Hematology, Oncology, and Bone Marrow Transplant, and co-PI Quoavi Sodji, MD, PhD, assistant professor, Department of Human Oncology, received a 2024 Translational Basic and Clinical Pilot Award from the UW Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (ICTR). Their project, “Improving Pediatric Neuroblastoma Immunotherapies Outcome by Using B7-H3 CAR-T Cells in Combination,” will study the effect of CAR-T cell therapy against neuroblastoma (NBL). NBL accounts for approximately 10% of childhood cancer deaths, and despite several treatment options, the five-year overall survival in high-risk disease remains only about 50%. Using B7H3 CAR-T cells in combination with low-dose external beam radiation (EBRT), Ansari’s team demonstrated disease-free survival of mice with both primary flank tumor and metastatic disease for an extended period. The use of B7-H3 CAR-T in combination with low-dose EBRT is a novel approach to treating NBL, which could lay the foundation for an effective therapy to more effectively eradicate the disease.
ICTR awarded 11 Translational Basic and Clinical (TBC) pilot awards for 2024, each in the amount of $50,000. The grant period for the award began September 1 and will run for one year.