Researchers at Mount Sinai in the US have developed a new immunotherapy that can be injected directly into a tumour cell and teach a patient’s own immune system to kill cancer throughout the body.
Called in situ vaccination, the new approach involves administration of two immune stimulants.
Go deeper with GlobalData
One of the stimulants recruits a type of immune cells called dendritic cells, which will then be activated by the second stimulant to direct T cells to attack cancer cells while sparing non-cancer cells.
The researchers noted that the immune cells learn to identify tumour cell characteristics in order to find and destroy the cancer throughout the body. This approach is said to turn the tumours into cancer vaccine factories.
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai The Tisch Cancer Institute lymphoma immunotherapy program director Joshua Brody said: “The in situ vaccine approach has broad implications for multiple types of cancer. This method could also increase the success of other immunotherapies such as checkpoint blockade.”
When tested in mice, the new vaccine therapy was able to significantly boost the checkpoint blockade immunotherapy.
How well do you really know your competitors?
Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.
Thank you!
Your download email will arrive shortly
Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample
We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form
By GlobalDataThe researchers then went on to evaluate the treatment in a clinical trial involving 11 patients with advanced-stage lymphoma.
Results, which have been published in Nature Medicine journal, demonstrated full remission ranging from months to years in some patients.
Based on these promising data, the team initiated trials in breast, and head and neck cancer patients to assess the vaccine in combination with checkpoint blockade drugs.
The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, the Cancer Research Institute and Merck funded this research, while Celldex and Oncovir supplied reagents for the clinical trial and the lab testing.
