Could this turn the tide against advanced cancer?

A new understanding of the genetics of cancerous tumours could be used to help your own immune system tackle the disease, say scientists.

The study looked at the genetics of lung and skin cancer tumours and found they carry biological "flags". These flags are preserved even as the cancers spread and mutate, providing a unique target for our immune systems.

The lead scientist on the project, Charles Swanton, told the Guardian: “What we’ve found for the first time is that tumours essentially sow the seeds of their own destruction. And that within tumours, there are immune cells that recognize those flags which are present in every tumour cell.”

How does it work?

The international study, which appeared in Science, looked at the genetic make-up of tumours, and the reaction of immune systems. As the cancer cells multiply and mutate, our immune system is often overwhelmed. However, the study found that these unique flags exist even as the cells change.

So, while immune cells that had recognized these flags are found within the tumours of patients, their reaction is often not enough to defeat the cancer. Therefore, a potential treatment would see the body’s own immune system artificially boosted to help it tackle the cancer – as explained in the graphic below.

Source: Guardian

The personalized treatment would involve taking immune cells that have recognized the flags, multiplying them in the lab and returning them to the body.

This video from Cancer Research UK explains the study and the potential process.

A second option would see the unique flags turned into a vaccine, promoting a response from the immune system as it recognizes an enemy.

So is the end of cancer in sight?

The scientists hope to begin a human trial for lung cancer within the next three years, but how effective the treatment will be is unclear.

“We haven’t proved that this can impact on patient care. What we have shown is that there are unique therapies potentially present within each patient’s tumour,” explained Professor Swanton. He believes it to be “taking personalized medicine to its absolute limit”.

However, the treatment won’t come cheap. Immunotherapies are notoriously expensive, and do not work for everyone. But, this new research offers hope that target cancerous cells can be targeted much more effectively.

Speaking to Cancer Research UK, Swanton expressed his excitement at the potential of the treatment. “Although it’s early days, it offers hope that we might just be able to turn the tide against advanced cancer – something we desperately want for our patients,” he said.

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