A new clinical study has revealed that it is possible for immune cells to recognize cancer-causing proteins with CRISPR gene-editing technology. Thus, personalized and effective treatments will be realized in the fight against cancer.
CRISPR and immune cell editing, two areas where cancer research has focused recently, were brought together with this study. The new method was tested on 16 people suffering from cancer.
Special forces from immune cells in cancer treatment
There will never be a magic pill for cancer treatment, because everyone’s cancer is treated as a separate case. Everyone’s genetic makeup is different, and genetic mutations cause cancer. As a result, a different protein must be targeted each time.
This is exactly what the new research aims at. The patient’s own T cells are redesigned to recognize and remove the mutating proteins. This army of T cells is then released into the rest of the body. To achieve this, the researchers took a blood sample from patients and a biopsy piece of tumor. Then, proteins found in tumor tissues and not found in blood were separated. T cells were then customized to detect and destroy these proteins as well. Customized T cells were transplanted into the patients.
While the disease stabilized in 5 out of 16 participants, only 2 experienced side effects. It was noted that a limited amount of T cells was used for the experiment, although overall the effects of the treatment were limited. Specialized cells were observed to focus on cancerous structures. This confirms the researchers’ theories.
Normally customized T cells faced serious problems in solid tumors. With the new research, it has been discovered how these cells can deal with tumors and how they can be more effective. The paper describing the method developed by Joseph Fraietta of the University of Pennsylvania and his team was published in Nature.
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