Jeremy Herschaft is not acting like a man who was told he had glioblastoma in December 2024. The Houston father of three says an experimental cell therapy at UTHealth Houston has kept him going, and he is still out on the roads, recently passing 550 miles logged on his runs, while trying to squeeze in as much time as he can with his kids. He has called the experience “surreal.” The early-stage treatment is built from a patient’s own tumor tissue and is meant to train the immune system to recognize and attack cancer cells.
How the vaccine is supposed to work
The study uses DOC1021, an autologous dendritic-cell vaccine that combines a patient’s dendritic cells with RNA and proteins taken from that person’s tumor. The goal is to spark a strong cytotoxic TH1 immune response, according to Diakonos Oncology. The company describes a “double-loading” method that places tumor antigens both inside the dendritic cells and on their surface so the immune system gets a broader look at tumor markers. The vaccine is prepared from freshly obtained tumor samples and then given as targeted injections to lymph node regions.
Trial site and doctors in Houston
The DOC1021 program is enrolling at several academic centers, and UTHealth Houston lists a randomized Phase II DOC1021 trial and related expanded-access protocols among its brain-tumor studies, according to UTHealth Houston Neurosciences. The university notes that investigators on the DC GBM_Phase II study include Nitin Tandon and Jay-Jiguang Zhu. FOX 26 Houston reported that Herschaft received DOC1021 at UTHealth and featured comments from him and members of his care team.
Early results and what they show
In an interim analysis released in April 2024, Diakonos reported roughly 88% 12-month survival among evaluable newly diagnosed patients in the Phase I cohort, with median overall survival not yet reached at the time of the update, according to Diakonos Oncology. The company and trial investigators stress that the group was small and follow-up is still underway, but regulators and researchers have agreed to move the program into later-stage trials. Business records and press materials indicate that Phase I enrollment is complete and that Phase II testing is being expanded across multiple centers.
How doctors are framing the news
Glioblastoma remains one of the deadliest cancers, with median survival after standard treatment usually landing around 12 to 15 months, according to the American Brain Tumor Association. Against that backdrop, doctors at UTHealth and trial investigators describe DOC1021’s safety profile to date as encouraging, but they are quick to add that only randomized data will show whether the immune response actually changes long-term outcomes. Local coverage has highlighted remarks from Dr. Nitin Tandon and Dr. Jay-Jiguang Zhu that strike a tone of cautious optimism and emphasize the need for more evidence, per FOX 26 Houston.
Next steps for patients
UTHealth lists its neuro-oncology trials, including contact information for coordinators at McGovern Medical School, for patients and families who want to explore clinical options. Prospective participants are urged to review eligibility and risks with their own medical teams. The DOC1021 Phase I study is registered as NCT04552886 on ClinicalTrials.gov, which provides inclusion criteria and additional contact details for trial sites.
