Novel therapy stimulates immune system to attack scaffolding surrounding pancreatic cancer tumors.

摘要

Researchers from the Abramson family Cancer Research Institute at the University of Pennsylvania (PA, USA) have recently discovered a novel way to treat pancreatic cancer by utilizing the patient's own immune system to destroy the scaffolding surrounding the tumor.The results published in the journal Science were observed in an ongoing study involving pancreatic cancer patients receiving standard gemcitabine chemotherapy with an experimental antibody manufactured by Pfizer (NY, USA). The antibody binds and stimulates the cell surface receptor CD40, a key regulator of T-cell activation.The research team hypothesized that the experimental antibodies would switch on the T cells, allowing them to attack the tumor. The treatment appeared to be effective, as the vast majority of tumors lost metabolic activity after treatment and some patients' tumors shrank substantially. However, all of the patients who responded to initial treatment did eventually relapse. On inspection of the tumor samples after treatment, obtained via biopsy or surgical removal, the researchers noted the absence of T cells and an abundance of macrophages.