Scientists have developed a new antibody treatment that helps the immune system recognize and attack. pancreatic cancer.
Pancreatic cancer cells use sweet “disguise” to trick the immune system into ignoring them.
Most current cancer immunotherapies target proteins or genes, but this new treatment focuses on sugars on the cell surface and blocks them. immune cells Researchers at Northwestern University in Chicago say they can find and attack cancer.
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“Pancreatic cancer is known to be good at hiding from the immune system, but we were shocked that a single sugar called sialic acid could so powerfully trick immune cells,” said senior author Mohamed Abdel Mohsen, associate professor in the Department of Medicine. infectious disease from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, told Fox News Digital.
“When a tumor coats itself with this molecule, it flips an immune ‘off switch’ on certain immune cells, essentially sending a signal saying, ‘I’m a normal, healthy cell. Don’t attack me.'”
Studies in mice showed that the treatment was successful in blocking this sugar signal, “waking up” immune cells and slowing cancer growth.
In two mouse models, tumors treated with the antibody grew significantly slower than the untreated group. the study showed.
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These findings could pave the way for testing in human groups and could be combined with chemotherapy or chemotherapy. Existing immunotherapiesaccording to the researchers.
The findings were published in the journal Cancer Research on November 3.
“Although this is an early-stage preclinical study and is not a treatment today, it opens up a new immune target for pancreatic cancer,” Abdelmoson said.
Heloisa P. Soares, MD, medical director of therapeutics at Huntsman Cancer Institute and associate professor of internal medicine at the University of Utah, said the study is “encouraging” because it shows a new way to help the immune system recognize and fight. pancreatic cancer.
“We were surprised to learn that a protein that normally helps cells stick together is also used by pancreatic cancer as a covert ‘don’t attack’ signal,” Soares, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital.
“What’s impressive is that when this signal was blocked, immune cells reawakened and began attacking tumors more effectively. This suggests a promising new direction for therapy.”
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Pancreatic cancer is one of the most deadly diseases. It is usually detected at an advanced stage, so patients have limited symptoms. Treatment selection And the five-year survival rate is only about 13%, the researchers noted.
Unlike many other cancers, it often does not respond to immunotherapy.
“Pancreatic cancer is often diagnosed late because it can remain asymptomatic and deep within the body,” Dr. Mark Siegel, FOX News senior medical analyst, told FOX News Digital.
“It also has fewer suitable immune targets and fewer mutations, making it difficult to treat.”
The researchers acknowledged that the study had some limitations. The main reason is that this experiment has so far only been carried out on animals and is not yet tested. human data.
“Animal models cannot capture the full complexity of human pancreatic cancer,” the lead researcher noted. “Tumors also use multiple escape routes, so this strategy could be part of a combined approach.”
The long-term safety and dosing parameters of this treatment are also unknown.
“Clinical trials are needed to see how effective this is in humans and whether it plays any role. cancer treatment “This difficult and deadly cancer is very promising,” Siegel added.
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Abdel-Mohsen said the research team is currently collaborating with clinicians at Northwestern University’s Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center on the next steps toward possible human studies, perhaps in combination with current chemotherapy and immunotherapies.
“If future studies support it, this approach could be added to the toolbox for pancreatic cancer, perhaps in tandem with existing chemoimmunotherapy, but not to replace the therapies that are currently effective,” he told Fox News Digital.
Researchers estimate that it could take about five years for the treatment to be available to patients after human clinical trials.
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Soares added: “While this is a promising advance, it will not change medicine overnight. Continued funding and participation in clinical trials will be essential to continue this progress.”
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This research was supported in part by the National Institutes of Health.
