Improving the efficacy of osteosarcoma therapy: combining drugs that turn cancer cell 'don't eat me' signals off and 'eat me' signals on.

The long-term survival of osteosarcoma patients with metastatic or recurrent disease remains dismal, and new therapeutic options are urgently needed. The purpose of our study was to compare the efficacy of CD47 mAb plus doxorubicin combination therapy in mouse models of osteosarcoma with CD47 mAb and doxorubicin monotherapy. Forty-eight NOD scid gamma (NSG) mice with intratibial MNNG/HOS tumors received CD47 mAb, doxorubicin, combination therapy, or control IgG treatment.

Nanoparticle enhanced MRI can monitor macrophage response to CD47 mAb immunotherapy in osteosarcoma.

CD47 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) activate tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) in sarcomas to phagocytose and eliminate cancer cells. Though CD47 mAbs have entered clinical trials, diagnostic tests for monitoring therapy response in vivo are currently lacking. Ferumoxytol is an FDA-approved iron supplement which can be used "off label" as a contrast agent: the nanoparticle-based drug is phagocytosed by TAM and can be detected with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

CAR T Cells Targeting B7-H3, a Pan-Cancer Antigen, Demonstrate Potent Preclinical Activity Against Pediatric Solid Tumors and Brain Tumors.

Purpose: Patients with relapsed pediatric solid tumors and CNS malignancies have few therapeutic options and frequently die of their disease. Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells have shown tremendous success in treating relapsed pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia, but this has not yet translated to treating solid tumors. This is partially due to a paucity of differentially expressed cell surface molecules on solid tumors that can be safely targeted.