Deciphering the impact of STING agonists on the tumor microenvironment in osteosarcoma

BioOsteosarcoma Webinar Series: Brian Ladle, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Oncology and Pediatrics at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, joins us on OsteoBites to discuss deciphering the impact of STING agonists on the tumor microenvironment in osteosarcoma.We have learned that more engagement of the immune system and osteosarcoma results in better outcomes - even when patients are given standard chemotherapy. We have found that drugs that activate the STING pathway in osteosarcoma tumors result in greater immune cell invasion into the tumors. This corresponds with improved outcomes when combined with chemotherapy and other immunotherapies. Dr. Ladle will discuss these findings and what steps we are taking to bring this closer to clinical trials for osteosarcoma patients.Dr. Brian Ladle is a pediatric oncologist, sarcoma specialist, and immunotherapy researcher at Johns Hopkins University. His research centers around the goal of generating potent immune responses against pediatric sarcoma tumors - especially osteosarcoma. Ongoing projects encompass preclinical work using osteosarcoma mouse models and osteosarcoma clinical trials in both dogs and humans. He really believes immunotherapy approaches can be effective against osteosarcoma and will become a key piece to "Make It Better" for osteosarcoma patients.