New research published in Science Translational Medicine … introduced a new potential treatment for some of the most difficult to treat cancers––brain and triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). The research, published in two side by side papers, shows that viruses enhance the use of checkpoint therapy in cancer treatment.
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The process of making this distinction [between self and invader] becomes difficult for immune cells because cancer cells lie in a gray area of self and non-self. In addition, cancer cells can manipulate checkpoints to avoid being attacked by the immune system. One hot field of cancer research is to tweak this system so that cancer cells are more visible or recognizable to the immune system. In doing so, the immune system can be harnessed to target cancer cells and kill them.
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In both studies, the authors found that virus treatment given early, before surgical removal of the mass, alters the immune response and increases the effects of treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors.
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It is important to mention that neither breast nor brain tumors are usually treatable with these drugs. So, in essence, these findings may have opened up an entirely new treatment option for these otherwise intractable cancers. For the people with TNBC (15% of all breast cancer patients) and brain cancer, it may be a lifesaver.
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