Tumor-targeting viral therapy slows neuroblastoma, malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors

“Our findings suggest that therapeutic viruses can act systemically by limiting the mobilization and recruitment of bone-barrow derived progenitors, both CEPs and others, that contribute to the tumor microenvironment and growth, resulting in the restriction of new blood vessel growth that can feed tumors,” Dr. Cripe said.

Neuroblastoma is a solid tumor cancer that begins in the sympathetic nervous system and most often strikes children younger than 5 years old. For children younger than 2, or those with a single mass tumor, the combination of surgery and chemotherapy has led to cure rates of 90 to 95 percent. In older children or those with metastatic disease, neuroblastoma is a much harder to fight. Tumor cells are often able to survive ordinary doses of chemotherapy and radiation, leading to relapses that are difficult to cure. During the last three decades, Cincinnati Children’s has been a leader in developing high-dose chemotherapy used in combination with bone marrow transplants and other drug treatments to help improve outcomes for patients with high-risk neuroblastoma. Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors are cancers affecting the connective tissue surrounding nerves. The first-line treatment is surgical removal with chemotherapy or radiotherapy used as auxiliary therapies.

The study included the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and the Dardinger Laboratory for Neuro-Oncology and Neurosciences/Department of Neurological Surgery and Comprehensive Cancer Center at Ohio State University. Other researchers in the study include, Yonatan Y. Mahller, Sachin S. Vaikunth, Maria C. Ripberger, William H. Baird, Yoshinaga Saeki, Jose A. Cancelas and Timothy M. Crombleholme. Funding support came from the National Institutes of Health and Cincinnati Children’s Division of Hematology/Oncology.

Cincinnati Children's, one of the top five children's hospitals in the nation according to Child magazine, is a 475-bed institution devoted to bringing the world the joy of healthier kids. Cincinnati Children's is dedicated to providing care that is timely, efficient, effective, family-centered, equitable and safe. For its efforts to transform the way health care is provided, Cincinnati Children's received the 2006 American Hospital Association-McKesson Quest for Quality Prize®. Cincinnati Children's ranks second nationally among all pediatric centers in research grants from the National Institutes of Health and is a teaching affiliate of the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. The Cincinnati Children's vision is to be the leader in improving child health.