Cancer drug restores immune system’s ability to fight tumors
Source: Medical Xpress, October 2023
A new, bio-inspired drug restores the effectiveness of immune cells in fighting cancer, a team led by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin has found. In mouse models of melanoma, bladder cancer, leukemia and colon cancer, the drug slows the growth of tumors, extends lifespan and boosts the efficacy of immunotherapy. The research is published in the journal Cancer Cell and could be a game changer for many cancer patients.
Many cancers delete a stretch of DNA called 9p21, which is the most common deletion across all cancers, occurring in 25%-50% of certain cancers such as melanoma, bladder cancer, mesothelioma and some brain cancers. Scientists have long known that cancers with the 9p21 deletion mean worse outcomes for patients and resistance to immunotherapies—the treatment strategies designed to supercharge a patient’s natural immune response to cancer.
The deletion helps cancer cells avoid getting detected and wiped out by the immune system, in part by prompting the cancer to pump out a toxic compound called MTA that impairs normal functioning of immune cells and also blocks the effectiveness of immunotherapies.