ACGT Email Newsletters

Meet Chris White: Patient in TIL therapy clinical trial.

Three surgeries, multiple rounds of chemotherapy, and three attempts with immunotherapy could not defeat Chris White’s melanoma. By the end of 2019, his tumors had spread far enough for doctors to suggest hospice care.

Yet, nearly five years later, Chris is cancer-free thanks to a novel cell and gene therapy he received in a clinical trial. Chris received TIL therapy, which uses a patient’s own immune system cells to attack their cancer.

The TIL therapy Chris received is now FDA-approved for advanced melanoma, and Chris’ story is an inspiring example for patients who are learning more about the curative potential of cell and gene therapy.

Read Chris’ full cancer journey on ACGT’s website.

A formidable duo: cell and gene therapy and the immune system.

Cancer forms when our body’s cells mutate and begin multiplying rapidly. Our immune system, which is the first defense against cancer, is often unable to identify cancer cells as dangerous since they look similar to healthy cells.

Cell and gene therapy unlocks the immune system’s ability to destroy cancer cells. By making genetic modifications to the immune system, scientists can turn a patient’s own body into a cancer-fighting force without the need for chemotherapy or radiation.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month: How scientists are advancing research.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. ACGT is committed to funding research to help scientists develop effective cell and gene therapies for all women’s cancers.

Each year in the United States, approximately 240,000 people are diagnosed with breast cancer. It is the second leading cause of cancer death in women.

Scientists are researching and testing novel cell and gene therapies to improve the treatment options for breast cancer. Visit the ACGT website to see a list of clinical trials testing cell and gene therapies for breast cancer.

Supporting ACGT: A faster path to cures.

At ACGT, we are committed to accelerating the path to novel therapies that treat and ultimately cure cancer. Breakthrough cell and gene therapies have given hope to people with difficult-to-treat cancer, but turning these scientific ideas into real treatments requires moving research from the lab into clinical trials – where the most crucial discoveries are made.

Clinical trials not only provide key learnings about how these therapies work in patients, but they are also a necessary step toward approval for widespread use. However, this vital phase of research comes with a high price tag. In previous years, the cost of clinical trials was typically $10,000-$25,000 per patient per year. Today, those costs can exceed $500,000 per patient, making trials the most expensive part of advancing promising research.

With your help, we can ensure that innovative ideas make it to clinical trials, leading to new approved treatments that give cancer patients a fighting chance. Your philanthropic support is essential in turning these groundbreaking therapies into a reality. Together, we can work to provide the resources needed to achieve the bold vision of curing cancer. Every day matters in the fight against this disease.

Please consider making a gift to ACGT today and help us bring lifesaving treatments to more patients faster.

ACGT scientist Dr. John Bell recognized with prestigious award.

ACGT Research Fellow John Bell, PhD (Ottawa Hospital Research Institute), has received the lifetime achievement prize from the Canadian Cancer Society.

The award recognizes an individual who, “through vision and leadership has enhanced the Canadian cancer research landscape to benefit people with cancer.” Dr. Bell has helped launch several initiatives: The Ottawa Hospital’s Biotherapeutics Manufacturing Centre; the Canadian Oncolytic Virus Consortium; the Canadian Pandemic Preparedness Hub; and BioCanRx, a network of immunotherapy researchers. He has also published more than 400 research papers and is internationally recognized as an immunotherapy expert.

In 2013, Dr. Bell received an ACGT research grant to develop an oncolytic virus for the brain cancer glioblastoma. Oncolytic viruses are modified versions of viruses that only attack cancer cells.

Backed by the knowledge, experience, and data generated by the ACGT-funded work, Dr. Bell was able to justify and attract the additional funding necessary to plan clinical trials to test the virus.

ACGT Scientific Advisory Council member and Research Fellow appointed to two new Mass General Brigham roles.

ACGT Research Fellow and Scientific Advisory Council member E. Antonio “Nino” Chiocca, MD, PhD (Brigham and Women’s Hospital), has accepted the roles of executive director of the Center for Tumors of the Nervous System and co-chair of the Executive Committee for Mass General Brigham (MGB) Cancer.

As executive director, Dr. Chiocca will build and establish the Center for Tumors of the Nervous System — bringing together neurosurgeons who focus on tumors of the central and peripheral nervous system with neuro-oncologists and with support from radiation oncologists — to create a world-leading center within MGB Cancer and drive innovative breakthroughs and treatments for patients.

In the news

The latest on cancer cell and gene therapy from around the world.

• Vironexis Biotherapeutics launches with FDA clearance of IND application for first-ever clinical trial of an AAV-delivered cancer immunotherapy.

• Moffitt Cancer Center announces a strategic collaboration with AstraZeneca to accelerate oncology cell therapies.

• CBS News covers the story of lymphoma survivor Howard Chew and his treatment with CAR T-cell therapy to fight cancer. The interview includes hematologist-oncologist Elizabeth Budde, MD, PhD (City of Hope), who talks about the development of the therapy and its benefits.

• In-vivo CAR T cells are moving into clinical trials as drug developers want to reprogram immune cells directly in the body, opening new gene therapy frontiers in cancer and autoimmunity.

• ACGT Research Fellow Sheila Singh, MD, PhD (McMaster University Cancer Research Centre), was awarded the Canadian Cancer Society Robert L. Noble Prize.