Activated neutrophils can become potent cancer fighters
Source: New Medical Life Science, January 2023
Elevated levels of immune cells, called neutrophils, in tumors have been associated with poor outcomes in people with cancer. But a study led by researchers at Stanford Medicine have found that, in mice, these cells can be transformed from black sheep into potent cancer fighters through an injection directly into the tumor site.
The treatment eliminated existing tumors and reduced the number and size of subsequent metastases in mice with cancers of the skin, lung, breast and colon. It also activated human neutrophils to kill human cancer cells in a laboratory dish, suggesting the approach could be useful in treating people with many types of cancers.
The researchers injected three agents simultaneously into the tumors: one that summons neutrophils to the tumor, another that amps up neutrophils’ cell-killing capacity, and a third that helps them locate and latch onto cancer cells. In initial studies, two treatments, given two days apart, eliminated melanoma tumors in seven out of eight mice, and the mice remained cancer free until the end of the study five months later. In contrast, untreated animals experienced uncontrollable tumor growth and were euthanized within one month.