Masakazu Kamata, PhD, Technology Impact Award Grantee University of Alabama at Birmingham Area of Research: All Cancers Brainstem glioma (BSG) is a highly aggressive brain tumor that arises from glial cells and has an extremely poor prognosis. Approximately 80% of these gliomas are diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), which occur significantly in the pediatric population. Treatment of BSG is challenging as it develops in the brainstem, which controls many vital functions. In this project, Dr. Kamata aims to establish a strategy that enables safe and clinically reliable therapy for BSG. Dr. Kamata’s patented polymer technology safely delivers highly cytostatic antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) directing BSGs and immunomodulators via intravenous administration while concealing the biological functionalities during systemic circulation. ADCs are targeted cancer therapies that selectively deliverchemotherapeutics to cancerous cells while reducing off-target toxicity. Numerous ADCs have been aggressively tested against various cancers. However, their efficacy is always limited with cancers in the brain due to poor penetration through the blood-brain barrier (BBB). To establish effective and safe BSG treatment, Dr. Kamata will apply their patented polymer nanoengineering technology to BSG therapy. Nanoengineered ADCs and immunomodulators acquire superior systemic circulation, BBB penetrability, and controlled activation at tumor sites. Moreover, this engineering allows for multi-drug loading to ADCs with different mechanisms of action — which is incredibly beneficial in suppressing the emergence of therapy resistance. In the proposed study, Dr. Kamata will combinatorically include an immunomodulator enabling the enhancement of anti-tumor host immune responses under ADC treatment. His approach can technically apply to any cancers initiated in or metastasized to the brain, including B-cell lymphoma, breast cancer, lung cancer, and glioblastoma. Projects and Grants Targeted therapy for brainstem tumors using brain-deliverable immunotherapeutics University of Alabama at Birmingham | All Cancers | 2024
