UCLA Cancer Team Awarded $2.5M From DOD To Develop New Treatment

LOS ANGELES — Researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center were awarded a $2.5 million grant from the Department of Defense to develop a treatment for glioblastoma, according to a news release issued by UCLA.

A team of investigators from the center received the Translational Team Science Award Tuesday, Sept. 5, to develop a tailored treatment for the deadly brain tumor that has limited treatment options, the news release said.

According to the release, the team, which includes "David Nathanson, associate professor of molecular and medical pharmacology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Benjamin Ellingson, director of the UCLA Brain Tumor Imaging Laboratory and professor of radiological sciences, and Dr. Timothy Cloughesy, professor of neuro-oncology," plans to target the epidermal growth factor receptor, a protein "that is mutated in about 60% of people" diagnosed with glioblastoma.

"Previous attempts have had limited success improving patient outcomes due to drugs’ inability to cross the blood-brain barrier and target genetic alterations in the protein that are unique to glioblastoma," the news release explained. "To overcome these obstacles, the researchers have developed ERAS-801, a brain-penetrant inhibitor that has been shown to work well in preclinical models."

ERAS-801 is now being tested in early clinical trials with patients diagnosed with glioblastomas, something that Nathanson said is "a major issue, especially for people in the military."

"We are hopeful that creating personalized treatments like this one and using advanced testing methods could help not only people with brain cancer but also with other rare diseases," he said.