A single administered dose may potentially eradicate cancer cells.
Stanford University scientists have developed a novel cancer treatment that involves a targeted injection designed to stimulate the immune response directly within a malignant tumor. This therapy has already shown success in eliminating tumors in mice.
Current research into more effective cancer treatments has gained momentum, offering hope for a variety of cancer types. The most recent experiments include using nanotechnology, genetically engineered microbes, and starvation methods to target and destroy cancer cells.
The latest study, led by senior study author Dr. Ronald Levy from Stanford University School of Medicine in California, focuses on a new approach: a one-time application of micrograms of two agents into a solid tumor site. One agent, CpG oligonucleotide, boosts the immune cells' ability to express a receptor, while the other antibody binds to the receptor and activates the T cells within the tumor. This method teaches the immune cells to fight the specific type of cancer they encounter, allowing them to migrate and destroy existing tumors throughout the body.
The researchers believe that this method could potentially bypass the need to identify tumor-specific immune targets and avoid broad-spectrum activation of the immune system. Dr. Levy hopes that the clinical trial for this treatment in people with low-grade lymphoma will be successful, potentially making it applicable to a wide range of cancer tumors in humans.
In the laboratory, this method was successfully applied to several types of cancer, including lymphoma, breast, colon, and skin cancer. Mice genetically engineered to develop breast cancer also responded well to this treatment. However, when two different types of cancer tumors—lymphoma and colon cancer—were transplanted in the same animal but only injected with the experimental formula in a lymphoma site, the results were mixed. All lymphoma tumors receded, but the colon cancer tumor did not. This suggests that the T cells only learn to deal with the cancer cells present in their immediate vicinity before the injection.
The study, which delves into the potential of this innovative therapy, was published yesterday in the journal Science Translational Medicine. Other cutting-edge cancer treatments involving combination therapies or immunotherapies, such as targeted therapies for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) or fixed-dose combination therapies for late-stage breast cancer, show potential effectiveness against various types of cancer. It is worth noting that these treatments are separate from the one-time application of agents to stimulate the immune response within a tumor, as discussed in the current study.
As Dr. Levy continues his work, he aims to extend this therapy to treat a wide array of cancer tumors regardless of their specific type, as long as they have been infiltrated by the immune system.
- This new cancer treatment, developed by Stanford University scientists, involves a targeted injection to stimulate the immune response within a malignant tumor, potentially applicable to a wide range of cancer tumors in humans.
- The study, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, represents an innovative approach in cancer treatment, using a one-time application of two agents to stimulate the immune system and destroy specific types of cancer.
- Other cutting-edge cancer treatments, such as combination therapies and immunotherapies, show promise against various medical conditions like non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and late-stage breast cancer, yet they differ from the one-time application of agents to stimulate the immune response within a tumor.
- The study suggests that the T cells learn to fight the specific type of cancer they encounter in their immediate vicinity, implying the potential to bypass the need to identify tumor-specific immune targets and avoid broad-spectrum activation of the immune system for other types of lymphomas and possibly other cancers.
