Scientists develop method to expose cancer cells to immune system

by IANS |

New Delhi, March 28 (IANS) An international research group has developed a new method to help the immune system recognise and attack cancer cells by leading them to expose themselves.

Researchers led by Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science (WIS) said cancer cells typically evade detection by displaying very few suspicious proteins that the immune system can identify and target, Xinhua news agency reported.

In the study published in the journal Cancer Cell, the team, including from the US and Germany, disrupted protein production in cancer cells, forcing them to produce abnormal, recognisable proteins, which could trigger a strong immune response capable of destroying cancer cells.

In mouse models, the approach has been proven effective in activating immune cells to target and destroy cancer cells, inhibiting tumour growth.

Combining this method with existing immunotherapy has led to tumour eradication in around 40 per cent of the mice, said Yardena Samuels, who led the research.

“An existing type of immunotherapy that was not at all effective against the kind of melanoma we tested suddenly became very effective when tested in mouse models after the translation process in the mice’s cancer cells was disrupted,” Samuels explained.

“This combined treatment managed to eradicate or greatly reduce the tumour in around 40 per cent of the mice,” she added.

Researchers believe that this breakthrough could improve cancer treatments, especially for patients with cancers that have few mutations.

“Finding a new predictive measure for the effectiveness of immunotherapy will allow doctors to offer the treatment to patients who, until now, were not candidates,” Samuels said.

The team is now exploring how this technique can be applied to other types of cancer, including breast, pancreas, and colorectal cancers, expecting it to pave the way for more effective, broader cancer therapies in the future.

“Since the translation process is the same in different cell types, any treatment that successfully manages to disrupt this process in one type of cancer cell could be effective against many other types of cancer,” the team said.