Single dosage potentially eliminates cancer cells
Cancer-Smashing Breakthrough: Revolutionary One-Time Injection Eliminates Tumors in Mice
The war on cancer continues, with researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine in California crafting a groundbreaking new treatment. With a targeted injection that's already annihilated tumors in mice, these scientists are giving the disease a serious run for its money.
Over the past few years, exploration regarding cancer treatments has exploded, providing fresh hope on the horizon. Modern nanotechnology, engineered microbes, and starvation strategies are just a few innovative approaches under examination.
The latest contender in this relentless pursuit? A simple injection of two agents that supercharge the body's immune system directly into a malignant solid tumor. And the results? Well, they've been astronomical.
In their studies so far, the researchers report complete elimination of tumors scattered throughout the body, with impressive effects. "When we use these two agents together," explains senior study author Dr. Ronald Levy, "we see the eviction of tumors across the board."
Here's the kicker: the method skips the need for tumor-specific immune targets and wholesale activation of the immune system, as well as the customization of a patient's immune cells.
What's more, the researchers are optimistic about a swift path to clinical trials for this miraculous treatment. One of the main ingredients has already earned approval for use in human therapy, while the other is currently under clinical trial for lymphoma treatment.
The research paper from the Stanford team was published in the esteemed journal Science Translational Medicine.
Hit 'em where it hurts: one-time application
Dr. Levy, a well-known advocate for immunotherapy as a lymphoma treatment, understands the benefits of harnessing the body's immune response against cancer cells.
Despite their best efforts, humans often alter the immune system to target cancer cells, but it can come with side effects, delays, or steep costs. Not so with their approach, which, according to Dr. Levy, utilizes "a one-time application of minuscule amounts of two agents to ignite the immune cells within the tumor alone."
Once immune cells are activated, they spread throughout the body, homing in on and destroying other tumors.
The immune system's role is crystal clear: it should be on high alert for harmful foreign bodies, such as cancer cells. Unfortunately, these malignant cells are often cunning, finding ways to slip past our body's defenses.
White blood cells called T cells play a crucial role in regulating the immune response. Normally, T cells would home in on and combat cancer cells, but all too often, cancer cells learn to trick them and evade the immune response.
Fight cancer, any cancer
In their study, Dr. Levy and his team focused on two specific agents:
- CpG oligonucleotide, a synthetic DNA stretch that boosts the immune cells' ability to express a receptor called OX40, which is present on the surface of T cells
- an antibody that binds to the receptor, setting the T cells in motion
Upon administration, the T cells are activated, some of them migrating to other parts of the body, cleaning up the remaining tumors.
Importantly, Dr. Levy and his colleagues believe this method can be used to target a range of different types of cancer. The T cells will learn to deal with the specific type of cancer cell they've been exposed to, providing a flexible treatment option.
In the lab, they first applied this method to a mouse model of lymphoma, with astounding results—87 out of 90 mice achieved complete cancer remission. Remarkably, even the three mice whose tumors recurred responded positively to a second round of treatment.
Similarly impressive outcomes were observed in mouse models of breast, colon, and skin cancer. Even mice genetically engineered to develop breast cancer spontaneously responded well to this treatment.
Targeted onslaught
However, when scientists transplanted two different types of cancer tumors—lymphoma and colon cancer—into the same animal but only injected the experimental formula into a lymphoma site, the results were uneven.
The lymphoma tumors receded, but the same couldn't be said for the colon cancer tumor, which confirmed that the T cells target only the cancer cells within their immediate vicinity before the injection.
As Dr. Levy puts it, "This is a highly targeted approach. Only the tumor sharing the protein targets displayed by the treated site is affected. We're attacking specific targets without needing to know exactly what proteins the T cells are recognizing."
Presently, the team is preparing a clinical trial to test the effectiveness of this treatment in people with low-grade lymphoma. Dr. Levy is hopeful that, if the clinical trial succeeds, they will extend this therapy to various types of cancer tumors in humans.
"I don't see any limits to the type of tumor we could potentially treat, as long as it's been infiltrated by the immune system," Dr. Levy concludes.
- The revolutionary one-time injection, designed for cancer elimination, works by supercharging the immune system directly into a malignant solid tumor, avoiding the need for tumor-specific immune targets and wholesale activation of the immune system.
- The innovative treatment, under development, skips the need for customization of a patient's immune cells and aims to activate immune cells within the tumor to combat other tumors throughout the body.
- This treatment holds potential for various medical conditions, including other lymphomas, as well as breast, colon, and skin cancer, due to its ability for T cells to learn to deal with the specific type of cancer cell they've been exposed to.
- The researchers are optimistic about the future of this treatment, with plans for a clinical trial focusing on people with low-grade lymphoma and hopes of extending this therapy to various types of cancer tumors in humans, targeting specific cancer cells without the need for exact protein recognition.
