ACGT leading the advancement of cell and gene therapy for brain cancer.

More than 24,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed every year with brain cancer, and many of them are given a poor prognosis from their doctors. The location of the tumor in the brain usually makes surgery difficult, and chemotherapy’s effect often is limited. 

Brain cancer is one of the most aggressive and toughest-to-treat types of cancer, but Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy believes there’s more we can do to help patients with these tumors.

This May, for Brain Cancer Awareness Month, ACGT will #FightForTheBrain by raising awareness on social media and elsewhere of the limited treatment options for brain cancer, the progress in cancer research involving brain cancer, and what ACGT is doing to advance life-saving cell and gene therapies for patients with brain tumors. Will you support our brain cancer research campaign by making a donation today?

In the first half of 2023, ACGT has awarded two research grants focused on brain cancer. One is for a pediatric brain tumor clinical trial hosted at the University of California, San Francisco. Hideho Okada, MD, PhD, a brain cancer scientist, is receiving grant funding to run a phase 1 clinical trial for children diagnosed with DMG (diffuse midline glioma). ACGT funding – which is a direct result of donor support – will help Dr. Okada run the trial.

The second grant is for a research project at MD Anderson Cancer Center using an oncolytic virus for glioblastoma, which is the most common brain cancer. Juan Fueyo, MD, has developed an oncolytic virus capable of helping brain cancer patients survive for more than three years. ACGT funding will help Dr. Fueyo and his colleagues make the virotherapy work for a larger percentage of glioblastoma patients.

There’s much more we can do, though – all of us. Help ACGT fund more brain cancer research by making a donation today. Your gift will empower us to continue finding innovative projects and clinical trials featuring cell and gene therapy for brain cancer.

Let’s #FightForTheBrain this May.

ACGT’s history of funding brain cancer research.

ACGT has awarded 14 grants totaling $6.75 million for brain cancer. Here’s a list of all the brain tumor research grants ACGT has funded since the organization was founded in 2001:

• Juan Fueyo, MD, of MD Anderson Cancer Center
• Hideho Okada, MD, PhD, of the University of California, San Francisco
• Noriyuki Kasahara, MD, PhD, of the University of California, San Francisco
• Marco Gallo, PhD, of the University of Calgary
• John Bell, PhD, of the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
• Alexander H. Stegh, PhD, of Northwestern University
• Michael Z. Lin, MD, PhD, of Stanford University
• Khalid Shad, MS, PhD, of Massachusetts General Hospital
• E. Antonio Chiocca, MD, PhD, of Ohio State University (now at Brigham and Women’s Hospital)
• Maciej S. Lesniak, MD, of the University of Chicago
• Miguel Sena-Esteves, PhD, of the University of Massachusetts
• Nabil Ahmed, MD, of Baylor College of Medicine
• Andrew Davidoff, MD, of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
• Fan Yang, PhD, of Stanford University

Register today for the 17th Swim Across America Fairfield County Open Water Swim – Saturday, June 24.

Since 2007, the annual Swim Across America Fairfield County (SAA-FC) Open Water Swim event has empowered hundreds of swimmers and volunteers to raise more than $5 million for Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy. The event takes place each year in Connecticut on the Long Island Sound. 

Current ACGT Research Fellows funded by SAA-FC include:

• Stephen Gottschalk, MD (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital) 
• Sidi Chen, PhD (Yale University) 
• Brian Brown, PhD (Mount Sinai)
• Juan Fueyo, MD (MD Anderson Cancer Center)

Whether you are a veteran swimmer or you’re looking to participate in your first open water swim, we welcome you to register today and help us “Make Waves to Fight Cancer.” The 17th Fairfield County Open Swim will be held on Saturday, June 24, 2023 in Stamford, CT. Visit swimacrossamerica.org/fc.

Can’t make it to the event? Donate today in honor of a swimmer!

In the news

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

• Dr. Carl June receives the AACR Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research during the AACR Annual Meeting.

• The FDA approves cell therapy for patients with blood cancers to reduce risk of infection following stem cell transplantation.

• Johnson & Johnson and Legend’s CAR T-cell therapy Carvykti slashed the risk of tumor progression or death by 74% compared with standard of care in patients with multiple myeloma.