Melanoma Immunotherapy Shows Promising Results in Mice
Source: Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News, April 2023
Researchers from King’s College London and Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust report their new class of immunotherapy shows promising results for fighting melanomas, the most aggressive form of skin cancer. The results show that an IgE antibody activates the immune response to fight cancer and slows melanoma growth in mice.
Their study “Anti-cancer pro-inflammatory effects of an IgE antibody targeting the melanoma-associated antigen chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan 4,” is published in Nature Communications.
“Outcomes for half of patients with melanoma remain poor despite standard-of-care checkpoint inhibitor therapies,” wrote the researchers. “The prevalence of the melanoma-associated antigen chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan 4 (CSPG4) expression is ~70%, therefore effective immunotherapies directed at CSPG4 could benefit many patients. Since IgE exerts potent immune-activating functions in tissues, we engineer a monoclonal IgE antibody with human constant domains recognizing CSPG4 to target melanoma.”