Abstract IA003: Next Generation T-cell Therapies for Pediatric Cancer: Lessons from Virus-specific T-cell Therapies

Abstract Pediatric patients with relapsed or refractory cancers have limited therapeutic options with little to no appreciable improvements in outcomes in over two decades. The promise of CD19-CAR-T cells for pediatric patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) was a major advance for the field but since obtaining FDA approval in 2017, no further approvals for pediatric cancers have followed suit. Adoptive cell therapy (ACT) including antigen-specfic T cell and CAR-T cell therapies are a promising, targeted approach for patients with the potential to minimize toxicities. Lessons learned from virus-specific T cell therapies including for post transplant lymphoproliferative disease have shown promise in the pediatric setting. Therefore, in this presentation we will discuss: (1) the development and manufacture of different ACT approaches used for pediatric cancers, and (2) discuss the obstacles when targeting and treating relapsed refractory cancers and how these can be overcome. The outcomes of the clinical applications of the various cell therapy products beyond traditional CAR-T will be reviewed along with the future potential, including novel product development and combination therapies. Overall, this presentation seeks to provide new insights regarding ACT successes, failures, and challenges to benefit a rapidly expanding immunotherapy field for the treatment of pediatric patients. Citation Format: Catherine Bollard. Next Generation T-cell Therapies for Pediatric Cancer: Lessons from Virus-specific T-cell Therapies [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference in Cancer Research: Discovery and Innovation in Pediatric Cancer— From Biology to Breakthrough Therapies; 2025 Sep 25-28; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2025;85(18_Suppl_2):Abstract nr IA003.