Scientists have found what
they’re calling the “Achilles heel” of cancer, according to a new study.Writing in Science,
researchers from University College London say they have gained a better
understanding about the genetic complexity of cancerous tumors, which could
lead to new and powerful immunotherapy drugs.
The researchers say that as a tumor grows,
“its genetic faults can be flagged on the cancer cell surface” and that some of
the flags, called antigens, “represent the very earliest mutations of the
disease and are displayed on all cells in the tumor, rather than a subset of
tumor cells.” Those common mutations are the key to a new approach to therapy.
The researchers describe cancer’s mutations
like a tree’s branches, with the earliest mutations “found in all cells,
forming the trunk of the disease.” Later mutations are not seen in all the
cancer’s cells, researchers said. Those changes allow the cancer to develop
immunity to drugs, and avoid attacks by the T-cells of the body's immune
system.
“The body’s immune system acts as the police
trying to tackle cancer, the criminals. Genetically diverse tumors are like a
gang of hoodlums involved in different crimes - from robbery to smuggling,”
said Sergio Quezada, co-author of the study, Cancer Research UK scientist and
head of the Immune Regulation and Cancer Immunotherapy lab at UCL Cancer
Institute. “And the immune system struggles to keep on top of the cancer – just
as it’s difficult for police when there’s so much going on.
“Our research shows that instead of aimlessly
chasing crimes in different neighborhoods, we can give the police the
information they need to get to the kingpin at the root of all organized crime
– or the weak spot in a patient’s tumor – to wipe out the problem for good.”The researchers said that because they can
now identify and target the tumor antigens that are in every cancer cell,
highly personalized immunotherapies could be developed to attack the cancer.
“For many years we have studied how the
immune response to cancer is regulated without a clear understanding of what it
is that immune cells recognize on cancerous cells. Based on these new findings,
we will be able to tell the immune system how to specifically recognize and
attack tumors,” said Quezada.
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