For many neurosurgeons at the Penn Brain Tumor Center, the recent immunotherapy trials are a beacon of hope in the treatment of malignant brain tumors.
Combining immunotherapy with more traditional treatment approaches, like chemotherapy and radiation therapy, could be the key to a greatly improved glioblastoma prognosis. The hope is that the average life expectancy for patients with glioblastoma — around 14 months — will significantly expand due to therapies like CAR-T.
Fortunately for patients, that sort of progress is possible at the Penn Brain Tumor Center and Abramson Cancer Center, according to Donald M. O'Rourke, MD, and Arati S. Desai, MD, who are leading the immunotherapy research efforts here at Penn.
"Penn is the only institution in the United States doing this kind of therapy right now. We're in the lead in terms of what we can do, mainly because of the infrastructure here at Penn. We have a huge facility in immunology," said Dr. O'Rourke.
Over the next five years or so, Dr. O'Rourke predicts that, "the research and treatment for glioblastoma, the real cutting-edge breakthrough, is going to be coming through the use of the immune system." Which makes immunotherapy "an area we're intensely exploring."