Modulating the immune system to combat metastatic cancer

May 24, 2013 ? Cancer cells spread and grow by avoiding detection and destruction by the immune system. Stimulation of the immune system can help to eliminate cancer cells; however, there are many factors that cause the immune system to ignore cancer cells. Regulatory T cells are immune cells that function to suppress the immune system response.

In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, researchers led by Ronald Levy at Stanford University found that regulatory T cells that infiltrate tumors express proteins that can be targeted with therapeutic antibodies.

Mice injected with antibodies targeting the proteins CTLA-4 and OX-40 had smaller tumors and improved survival. Moreover, treatment with these antibodies cleared both tumors at the primary site and distant metastases, including brain metastases that are usually difficult to treat. These findings suggest that therapies targeting regulatory T cells could be a promising approach in cancer treatment.

In an accompanying commentary, Cristina Ghirelli and Thorsten Hagemann emphasize that in order for this approach to be clinically relevant, it will be important to show that targeting regulatory T cells in metastatic tumors also blocks growth.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal References:

1. Aur?lien Marabelle, Holbrook Kohrt, Idit Sagiv-Barfi, Bahareh Ajami, Robert C. Axtell, Gang Zhou, Ranjani Rajapaksa, Michael R. Green, James Torchia, Joshua Brody, Richard Luong, Michael D. Rosenblum, Lawrence Steinman, Hyam I. Levitsky, Victor Tse, Ronald Levy. Depleting tumor-specific Tregs at a single site eradicates disseminated tumors. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 2013; DOI: 10.1172/JCI64859
2. Cristina Ghirelli, Thorsten Hagemann. Targeting immunosuppression for cancer therapy. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 2013; DOI: 10.1172/JCI69999

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/oMcJAKQCx-c/130524122004.htm

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