Building on their research showing that an exciting new form of immunotherapy for cancer has activity in patients with glioblastoma, the most common and most deadly form of brain cancer, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators have created a new method that could make immune therapy more effective again brain tumors and expand its use against other types of solid tumors. Their study is published in the journal Nature Biotechnology.
The treatment, known as chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR T) therapy, involves collecting and genetically modifying a patient's immune-fighting T cells to recognize specific targets (antigens) on the surface of tumors, and then returning them to the patient. Two CAR T cell products have been approved by the FDA for treatment of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and acute lymphoblastic leukemia, respectively cancers of the lymphatic system and blood.
[...] So to boost the effectiveness of CAR T cells, they decided to target a second antigen, the naturally occurring or "wild type" of EGFR. But because EGFR is present in many cells in the body, drugs targeting the protein can cause serious side effects. To overcome this toxicity problem, Maus and colleagues crafted a CAR T cell that can be delivered into the cerebrospinal fluid at the base of the brain. When it gets into the brain, the CAR T then secretes a second type of immunotherapy, called a bi-specific T-cell engager, or "BiTE." BiTEs are antibodies that direct cell-killing T cells to a specific target, somewhat akin to a homing mechanism on a so-called "smart bomb."
[...] When they tested it in models of human glioblastoma, they found that the modified BiTE-secreting CAR Ts eliminated about 80% of the tumors.
The technique holds promise for treating other solid tumors as well, says lead author Bryan D. Choi, MD, from the department of Neurosurgery at MGH.
The biggest barrier they still face in their efforts to bring the research into human clinical trials is financial support, the investigators say.
Bryan D. Choi, et. al. CAR-T cells secreting BiTEs circumvent antigen escape without detectable toxicity. Nature Biotechnology, 2019; DOI: 10.1038/s41587-019-0192-1
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 27 2019, @10:16PM (4 children)
I though that was Islam.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 27 2019, @10:24PM (3 children)
You are too focused. It's ALL religions, not just Islam.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 27 2019, @11:47PM (1 child)
Except Pastafarianism... they're the only sane ones.
(Score: 1) by RandomFactor on Sunday July 28 2019, @12:54AM
Let me noodle on that for a while.
В «Правде» нет известий, в «Известиях» нет правды
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 28 2019, @04:57AM
except perhaps the Jains.