A world-first clinical trial will test cancer vaccines designed specifically for children with advanced or treatment-resistant brain tumours, following a $2.578 million investment from the Australian Government.
The study – co-led by The University of Queensland and the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) and partnered with mRNA medicines platform company Providence Therapeutics – will provide personalised vaccines to children and adolescents.
Trial sites for the PaedNEO-VAX study will be rolled out at 8 paediatric hospitals in Queensland, South Australia, NSW, Victoria and Western Australia over coming months
Clinical lead, Professor Jordan Hansford, from SAHMRI and Adelaide University (pictured below), said the trial was available for paediatric patients with relapsed and unresponsive high-grade tumours, medulloblastoma, ependymoma, high-grade glioma and newly diagnosed diffuse midline glioma.
The Australia and New Zealand Children’s Haematology and Oncology Group (ANZCHOG) is the trial sponsor and will manage the study.
According to the researchers, Phase I of the trial will help determine the safest and most effective dose, while Phase II will assess how well the treatment works including whether it slows cancer progression and improves overall survival and quality of life for participating children and their families.”
