Newly-discovered immune treatment can kill most cancer cells; leaves healthy cells alone

There is an “unconventional method” in which the immune system can rid the body of cancer cells – scientists have found a specific immune cell receptor that can be harnessed to assess/eliminate a wide range of cancerous threats, such as those that lead to lung, breast, or skin cancer, among others. Professor Andrew Sewell of Cardiff University, UK, who made the discovery, sees raised hopes for a “universal” cancer treatment that could have dramatic results.

On animal and lab cells, the Cardiff team managed to single out a T-cell receptor (TCR) in the blood “capable of destroying many different types of cancer” but ignores healthy cells – this particular TCR interacts with a molecule called MR1 which is specific to cancerous cells; thus flagging the distorted metabolism going on inside it to the immune system. Using this newfound knowledge, the scientists propose that a blood sample would be taken from a cancer patient and genetically reprogrammed to make the cancer-finding TCRs; the upgraded cells would later be injected back into the patient.

While the discovery is a “first of its kind” and has “great potential,” it has yet to translate to actual medicines for cancer immunotherapy as many safety checks need to be carried out prior to human trials.

However, an example of an existing cancer treatment – similar to the Cardiff idea – is the CAR-T therapy.  CAR-T is a living drug made by genetically engineering a patient’s T-cells to seek out and destroy cancer. Unfortunately, CAR-T works in only a limited number of cancers where there is a clear target for the T-cells to spot.

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Category: Features, Pharmaceuticals