According to a study published in Science Translational Medicine, a combination of two cancer treatments could provide effective treatment for lung cancer by targeting immune cells involved with formulation of tumors. The researchers said that the chemotherapy drug cisplatin in combination with new immune therapy called CSF1R antibody could provide effective treatment. Combining immunotherapy, anti-angiogenic drugs and chemotherapy is an FDA-approved strategy for treatment of non-small cell lung cancer.
In this research, the EPFL scientists tested a bispecific antibody dubbed A2V to block ANGPT2 and VEGFA in a mouse model with genetic mutations. This therapy inhibited the growth of most tumors. The added PD-1 blockade to A2V failed to improve tumor response in mice at any point of time. Further, the team found that two different types of macrophages were present in lung tumor and they contribute to support Tregs. When the macrophages and Tregs were eliminated, the good CD8 T cells remained present. The Immune checkpoint blockade with PD-1 or PD-LI antibodies has been approved for non-small cell lung cancer treatment.
“The type of immunotherapy approved for lung cancer treatment, called immune checkpoint blockade (ICB), is in a class of drug that can instigate CD8 T immune cells to attack the tumor,” said Amaia Martinez-Usatorre, PhD, lead author on the study and a postdoc in the lab of Michele De Palma, PhD. “Unfortunately, only about a fifth of patients with lung cancer benefit from ICB, and long-lasting responses are rare.”
This research could provide a way for immunotherapies which are designed to fight against lung cancer cells. In future studies, their findings also help in enhancing the effectiveness of immune checkpoint blockades. “Because the drugs we used in this experiment — cisplatin and the CSF1R antibody — are approved treatments for certain human diseases, this could expedite clinical testing of the strategy,” said De Palma, a biologist at Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.
The information shared in this blog is for educational purposes only and is certainly not a substitute for medical advice.
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