Principal Investigators:
Richard Gorlick, MD (MD Anderson Cancer Center)
Michael Roth, MD (Children’s Hospital at Montefiore)
David Loeb, MD, Ph.D. (Johns Hopkins University)
Nicolas Llosa, MD (Johns Hopkins University)
Brian Ladle, MD, PhD (Johns Hopkins University)
Ian Davis, MD, Ph.D. (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
Patrick Thompson, MD (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)

Study Synopsis:

This study explores the ways in which certain drugs, epigenetic modifiers, change the immune system and cancer. We plan to leverage the results of this unique, 3 institution collaboration towards the development of future Sunshine Project clinical trials such as an emerging concept for assessing the therapeutic utility of checkpoint inhibitors in combination with 5-azacitidine in patients with osteosarcoma.

Osteosarcoma outcomes have not significantly improved over the past three decades. This preclinical proposal has clear translational benefits. By defining the biology and efficacy of combined therapy with an anti-PD-1 antibody and 5-azacytidine, researchers hope to establish the basis for developing this approach into a potential Sunshine Project clinical trial for children with relapsed or refractory osteosarcoma.