A single dose of medication could potentially eliminate cancer cells.
In a groundbreaking development, researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine have tested an innovative approach to combat cancer – a targeted injection that has shown remarkable results in eliminating tumors in mice.
The cancer-fighting landscape has expanded dramatically over the recent years, offering a glimmer of hope with each breakthrough. Among the latest experiments, researchers are exploring the use of advanced nanotechnology to hunt down microtumors, engineering microbes to thwart cancer cells, and starving malignant tumors to death.
Enter Dr. Ronald Levy and his team, who have pioneered a new method that could revolutionize cancer treatment: injecting minute amounts of two agents directly into a tumor, stimulating the body's immune response. Their research, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, has shown promising results.
Immunotherapy, which enhances the body's immune response to target cancer cells, plays a crucial role in Dr. Levy's expertise, especially in lymphoma treatment. This new method offers several advantages, including fewer side effects, reduced time commitment, and lower costs compared to existing immunotherapy methods.
"Our approach uses a one-time application of very small amounts of two agents to stimulate the immune cells only within the tumor itself," explains Dr. Levy. "This method can 'teach' the immune cells how to fight against that specific type of cancer, allowing them to migrate and destroy all other existing tumors."
One of the agents used in the research has already been approved for human therapy, while the other is currently under clinical trial for lymphoma treatment. The team is optimistic about a speedier trajectory toward human clinical trials for this method.
The immune system usually detects and eliminates harmful foreign bodies, but cancer cells often evade this response by developing complex mechanisms. T cells, a type of white blood cell, would typically target and fight cancer tumors; however, cancer cells can trick them and escape the immune response.
In the study, Dr. Levy and his colleagues delivered micrograms of CpG oligonucleotide, a DNA sequence that enhances immune cells' ability to express a receptor called OX40, and an antibody that binds to the receptor, activating the T cells. Once activated, the T cells migrate to other areas of the body, searching out and destroying additional tumors.
The method could potentially be used to target multiple cancer types, as the immune cells adapt to deal with the specific type of cancer they encounter. Laboratory tests showcased this adaptability: even mice genetically engineered to develop breast cancer spontaneously responded well to this treatment.
While the research has shown incredible results in mice, there are limitations to this 'targeted approach.' The T cells only learn to defeat the specific cancer cells in their immediate vicinity before the injection. For instance, when scientists transplanted lymphoma and colon cancer tumors in the same animal but inserted the experimental formula only into the lymphoma site, only the lymphoma tumors receded.
Dr. Levy's team is now preparing a clinical trial to assess the effectiveness of this treatment in people with low-grade lymphoma. If the trial proves successful, they aim to extend this therapy to various cancer tumors in humans. "I don't think there's a limit to the type of tumor we could potentially treat, as long as it has been infiltrated by the immune system," concludes Dr. Levy.
- This new approach in cancer treatment, developed by Stanford University School of Medicine, involves targeting other lymphomas with a specific injection that has shown effectiveness in eliminating tumors in mice.
- The study, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, utilizes immunotherapy, which enhances the immune response, to combat lymphoma, a type of cancer.
- The effectiveness of this method lies in its minimal side effects, reduced time commitment, and lower costs compared to existing immunotherapy methods, as it uses mere micrograms of two agents to stimulate the body's immune cells.
- CpG oligonucleotide, one of the agents used, enhances immune cells' ability to express a receptor called OX40, while another antibody binds to the receptor, activating T cells and teaching them to fight against specific types of cancer.
- In medical-health and wellness terminology, these T cells, once activated, are equipped to starve microtumors to death and can migrate to destroy all other existing tumors within the system.
- The eventual goal of Dr. Levy's research is to extend this personalized health and wellness treatment to various cancer types, including breast cancer, as the immune cells adapt to deal with the specific type of cancer they encounter.
