Prior to that, she had shown efficacy in the fight against tumors in mice.
A cancer treatment experiment by Stanford University scientists who have used immune stimulants to fight cancer in mice have yielded positive results. Now the vaccine will be tested in humans, according to a press release on the MedicalXpress website.
After injecting a combination of two immune stimulants directly into the tumors of the mice, the research team claimed that all traces of cancer from the entire body of the animal had disappeared - including metastases that had not previously been cured.
“When we use these two components together, we see the elimination of tumors throughout the body. This approach does not require activating the immune system or adapting the patient's immune cells,”said Stanford University Senior Research Fellow Dr. Ronald Levy.
Of the two immune “agents” used in the study, one has already been approved for use in humans, and the other is currently involved in research on the treatment of lymphoma.
The researchers explained that when the immune system detects cancer cells in the body, its T cells attack the tumor, but over time, the tumor develops ways to “numb” the immune cells and continues to grow.
In an experiment proposed by Levy, anti-cancer T cells from the immune system were rejuvenated when a microgram (one millionth of a gram) of two immune boosters was injected into a mouse lymphoma tumor. The same cells then moved from the tumor she had destroyed to find any other identical cancers in the body. Although the injection was found to be successful in eliminating targeted tumors present in the body of mice, T cells did not travel to the colon cancer tumor also found in the animal.
The experiment was carried out in 90 mice and was successful in eliminating tumors in 87 of them, which allowed the researchers to announce the effectiveness of the approach. The cancer recurred in three animals, but the tumors regressed after another round of immune therapy. The study was also successful in mice with breast, colon and melanoma tumors.
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“All of these advances in immunotherapy are changing medical practice. Our approach uses a single application of very small amounts of two agents to stimulate immune cells only within the tumor itself. In mice, we have observed amazing effects in the body, including elimination of tumors throughout the animal. In the future, we are going to apply this knowledge to treat various forms of cancer in humans,”concluded Levy.
GRIGORY PUSHKAREV