Prof. Gal Markel explains what immunotherapy is / the Cancer Society
A revolutionary new cancer treatment known as mRNA therapy is being given to patients at Hammersmith Hospital in West London.
This treatment is designed to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of treating melanoma (skin cancer), lung cancer and other solid tumors.
The new treatment uses genetic material known as mRNA (messenger RNA) and works by presenting common markers from tumors to the patient's immune system. The goal is to help it identify and fight cancer cells that express those markers.
"New mRNA-based cancer immunotherapy drugs offer a way to mobilize the immune system of the patient himself to fight his cancer," says Dr. David Pinato of Imperial College London, a researcher in the UK arm of the trial.
Pinato also said that this research is still in its early stages and could take years before it becomes available to patients.
However, the new experiment laid crucial foundations that could help develop new anti-cancer treatments that are much less toxic and more precise.
"The world desperately needs such treatments to curb the rising incidence of cancer," he added.
The new treatment will cause the patient's immune system to go into battle and defeat the cancer cells/ShutterStock
Several cancer vaccines have recently entered clinical trials around the world.
They fall into two categories: immunotherapeutic vaccines that are specifically tailored to cancer, and rely on extracting the patient's own genetic material from their tumors;
and therapeutic immunotherapy drugs for cancer, such as the mRNA therapy recently launched in London, which is tailored to a specific type of cancer.
The main goal of the new trial, called "Mobilize" is to find out if this type of mRNA therapy is safe and tolerated by patients with lung or skin cancer and can shrink tumors.
The treatment will be given as a single treatment in some cases and in combination with the existing cancer drug in other cases.
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The mRNA treatments: educate the immune system
The molecule called mRNA (messenger RNA) is, as mentioned, the heart of the development of the new treatment. It is a molecule similar to the hereditary molecule DNA, which consists of parts called "nucleotides", which are arranged in a way reserved for the cell to produce proteins.
When a treatment containing mRNA is introduced into the body, the cells begin to produce proteins encoded according to the early "programming" of the mRNA.
The proteins formed line up on the surface of the cell being treated, and are recognized by the immune system to create an immune response, which includes antibodies against the disease.
The mRNA treatment "programs" the body's cells to change, so that we encourage the immune system to produce antibodies and T white blood cells needed to neutralize the disease.
We first became familiar with the treatment using mRNA from the Pfizer and Moderna corona vaccines, which managed to achieve higher efficiency percentages than other vaccines created using traditional methods.
The researchers say that while the current treatment is experimental and still in the early stages of testing, they hope it may eventually lead to a new treatment option for cancers that are difficult to treat today, if the approach proves to be safe and effective.
What causes the surge in cancer incidence?
The incidence of cancer all over the world is on the rise and reaches new highs every year.
One of the main reasons - cancer cells can be resistant to drugs, which makes it difficult to treat tumors, and scientists in recent years have been looking for new approaches to deal with cancer.
Preclinical tests in both cell and animal cancer models have provided evidence that the new treatment has an effect on the immune system and can be offered to patients in early-stage clinical trials.
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immunotherapy