“If you can’t beat the enemy, join him.” This famous phrase, applicable on both realistic and metaphorical levels, is the key to the approach of the new cancer vaccine presented by a team of scientists from various US research centers. With it, they use their own tumor cells live to attack the rest and, in turn, prepare the immune system to launch against them in case they reappear.
It is important to note that, for now, it has only been tested in mice. However, the results have been quite promising. Not just because of its effectiveness. Also because the rodent models used carried human-derived bone marrow, liver, and thymus cellsso that we would be imitating our own immune microenvironment.
It is also worth mentioning that it is not the first cancer vaccine to be developed. However, it is the first time that active tumor cells have been used. are generally used dormant cells, as in traditional vaccines with microorganisms. Thus, the immune system is stimulated to attack them. But this time there is the extra help of the active cells and that may be the key that was missing to increase its effectiveness.
A new type of cancer vaccine
It’s a statementthe authors of this research compare the tumor cells with the homing pigeons. In the same way that these always return to their roost, no matter how many kilometers they have traveled, the cells of glioblastomathe tumor on which this cancer vaccine has been tested, can travel throughout the brain to attach to the rest of the tumor.
For this reason, they decided to take tumor cells identical to those of the tumor, but modify them through one of the most used genetic engineering techniques in recent times: CRISPR-Cas9. This is a kind of molecular short cut, which allows cutting DNA, and changing some genes for others. A) Yes, what they did was modify the genetic material cells to turn them into tumor destroyers. In addition, they were designed to be easy for the immune system to label, detect and remember.
In this way, by introducing them into the brain of the mice, they could travel to the tumor, destroy it and, in the meantime, train the immune system so that, in the event of a relapse, their own cells are in charge of the attack. But that is not all. also added a security switch which, when activated, destroys the modified tumor cells if necessary.
promising results
The first experiments in mice have had very promising results in terms of survival and immunity. In addition, by including human-derived cells, it is expected that the extrapolation to our species easier than with other cancer vaccines.
As for the target, it has been used against glioblastoma, a very malignant type of brain tumor. However, those responsible for the investigation believe that it could be used against other solid tumors. These are abnormal masses of tissue, free of fluid, and cysts, including sarcomas, carcinomas, and lymphomas.
These are very common tumors, so a cancer vaccine that acts immediately and prevents relapses would be a perfect weapon for the arsenal that science is gradually building against this terrible disease. There is still a long way to go, but each step like this is good news.