One Therapy That Could Potentially Stop Ewing Sarcoma At The Source

Patients fighting Ewing sarcoma often respond well to their first round of treatment. However, if the cancer returns (relapses) or spreads, the outlook becomes much worse because traditional treatments fail about 90% of the time. This standstill occurs because Ewing sarcoma is driven by a faulty “master switch” protein called EWS::FLI1, which forces cells to continuously divide and grow. For decades, scientists have struggled to find a way to turn this dangerous switch off in patients who have relapsed.

Now, researchers at the University of Michigan Health Rogel Cancer Center have made a major breakthrough by finding a way to successfully target this master switch. Led by Dr. Patrick Grohar, two new studies highlight promising drug strategies. In a clinical trial of patients who had already failed multiple lines of treatment, the team paired two existing drugs—trabectedin and irinotecan—and delivered them via a rapid, one-hour infusion. This unique approach successfully turned off the EWS::FLI1 protein, causing tumors to shrink or stabilize in roughly half the patients, a massive improvement over traditional treatment success rates. Additionally, the researchers are developing a newer version of the drug called AIT102, which aims to be even more effective at shutting down the cancer switch while causing fewer toxic side effects for patients.

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