The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) has awarded $5.3 million to Karen Aboody, MD, of City of Hope for late‑stage preclinical work on a neural stem‑cell‑based treatment for chemo‑resistant metastatic ovarian cancer.
About 22,000 women in the U.S. are diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year. More than 70 percent are late‑stage with abdominal metastases, leading to a 34 percent five‑year survival rate.
Standard care relies on aggressive chemotherapy, which causes toxic side effects and often leads to chemoresistance. Safer and more effective options are urgently needed.
This approach uses neural stem cells to deliver an oncolytic virus directly to abdominal tumor sites. The virus kills tumor cells, including chemo‑resistant ones, and triggers the patient’s immune system to attack the cancer.
If successful, this therapy could offer a more effective and less toxic option for Stage III ovarian cancer. That would improve survival and quality of life
“The CIRM funding allows us to complete preclinical studies, manufacturing, and trial design needed for FDA approval within two to three years,” said Dr. Aboody.
CIRM previously supported Aboody and the City of Hope team with an award for earlier translational research.
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I am in a reoccurrance of ovarian cancer. The first tim around I was at stage 3 B aggressive. This time they were able to catch it early. I would love to know more information in regards to stem cell research for ovarian cancer