Cancer-targeting treatment “steps on the gas” to kill tumors

Many have heard immunosuppressive drugs, which are types of drugs that suppress the immune system, but are less well known are immunostimulator drugs, which stimulate the immune system. The latter is a potential solution for treating cancer tumors, because drugs trigger the immune system to attack cells mutated. Problem? Usually, such drugs can also cause the immune system to be too high, attack healthy cells with serious consequences – sometimes deadly.

That’s the problem of MIT researchers behind the new cancer immunotherapy studies have been handled. While introducing immunostimulator drugs throughout the body can cause the immune system to attack healthy cells, the new shipping method detailed in natural biomedical engineering is designed to target cancer tumors in particular.

This method involves introducing IL-12, the type of stimulation molecule, directly where the tumor is – the team refers to this as “stepping on the gas.” This broader aspect of immunotherapy care joins the other process the researchers describe “removing the brakes,” at least when it comes to cancer tumors and their way against the immune system.

While the healthy immune system is usually very effective in cleaning up old cells, damaged and fighting against infection, cancer cells – which have mutated genes – produce their own molecules that suppress the ability of the immune system to attack them. It reduces the body’s ability to fight and remove cancer cells, allowing them to grow and, in the end, spread to other parts of the body.

The researchers noted that while this problem can be handled using existing drugs called inhibitors of the checkpoint blockade, drugs only work on certain types of cancer. Combining these inhibitors with immunostimulatory drugs, however, may be more effective against resistant cancers, giving encouragement immune cells, they need to attack tumors.

All of this circles back to the problem of unwanted side effects that come by stimulating the immune system, including severe things due to organ failure, according to the researchers. That’s where their work entered – he circled targeting the stimulation molecule directly to the tumor, basically letting the body know just attacking the cancer cells while leaving other healthy cells.

Work on the project has been going on for years, including previous studies from teams published in 2019 (via MIT) which involves targeting IL-12 molecules in cancer tumors in mice. This new study evaluates enhanced ways to tie IL-12 molecules and cytokines (immune cells) to tumors, exchanging collagen protein previously used with compounds called aluminum hydroxide (ally).

The very small alum particles they measured in microns, the researchers explained, noted that small sizes mean particles would remain where they were injected for several months. This study involves testing the potential for immunotherapy care in mice, which is treated with inspection postal blockade inhibitors and injected with IL-12. The result is promising.