As part of a new study aimed at developing the immune treatment of the disease, US researchers managed to turn tumors into a vaccine that fights cancer.
In the study published in the journal Nature Medicine on April 8, researchers at the Mount Sinai Hospital, Manhattan, announced the details of their successful experiment that undermined lymphoma in advanced stages.
According to the study led by Dr. Joshua Brody, director of the Lymphoma Immunotherapy Program, the researchers used an in situ vaccine targeting a tumor with two immune stimulants to induce the immune system to kill the tumor. During this process, the vaccination recognizes the features of the tumor cells so it can seek them out and destroy them throughout the body.
"The first stimulant "Flt3L" recruits important immune cells called dendritic cells that act like generals of the immune army, while the second stimulant "Poly – ICLC" guides T cells, the immune system's soldiers, to kill cancer cells and spare non-cancerous cells," Dr. Brody told Asharq Al-Awsat.
"This immune army learns to recognize features of the tumor cells so it can seek them out and destroy them throughout the body, essentially turning the tumor injected with two immune stimulants, into a cancer vaccine factory," he added.
After testing the lymphoma vaccine in the lab, it was tested in 11 patients in a clinical trial.
"The best test to validate this mechanism in treatment is that, by treating one tumor site in our patients, we managed in dissolving the tumors spread throughout the body," explained Brody.
The research team is seeking to test this vaccination on a larger scale, to treat patients with other cancers such as breast, and brain and neck.
