According to a story from UCI News, University of California Irvine scientists have developed an innovative immunotherapy that could screen patients in order to analyze the composition of their tumors and allow for more personalized cancer treatments. These individualized approaches could allow for effective treatment without the risk of serious complications or side effects, which often appear with current approaches like radiation and chemotherapy. This could lead to substantial advances in treatment for rare cancers.
Identifying T-Cell Receptors
This immunotherapy system tracks and screens cancer tumors for T-cell receptors with complete precision. This process can be completed in just a few days. These capabilities have the potential to allow for patients to receive immunotherapy treatment that is tailored for the specific characteristics of their tumor in a fast and efficient manner.
Why T-Cells?
T-cells are the immune system’s killing agents. These cells possess the capability of attaching to a target using surface molecules called antibodies. Such targets could include an infectious bacteria cell or a cancer cell. Antibodies attach at a receptor site on the surface of the foreign cell called an antigen, which are only identified once the immune system comes into contact with the target cell. This new tech allows researchers to determine which molecules will be effective against a specific tumor.
Advantages
Traditional treatment approaches like chemotherapy have a much less precise mechanism of action that results in the patient experiencing harmful and unpleasant systemic effects as part of their treatment. T-cell receptor therapy has traditionally been limited because of the practically limitless number of TCR molecules. With all of these potential molecules, identifying the one that would work simply took too long for T-cell receptor therapy to be very practical; this new technology has solved that problem.
New Therapies on the Horizon
This new technology also means a major drop in cost for the manufacture of TCR molecules. This new screening technology will soon be available to drug developers, who should be able to have a field day in making new therapies with it. This platform is also expected to have utility in other immunotherapeutic applications, such as identifying CAR-T cells and antibodies.
Check out the original study here.
