Researchers have developed a novel delivery platform using nano-sized cell particles, known as extracellular vesicles (EVs), that significantly enhances the effectiveness of cancer immunotherapy while reducing the associated side effects. This breakthrough could transform the future of cancer treatment.
Enhancing Immune Response Against Cancer
Immunotherapy is considered revolutionary in cancer treatment, effectively employing the immune system of the human body for better management of cancer. However, the utility of immunotherapy has been restricted because immune-related side effects may occur since the immune system can even affect normal tissues.
The group of researchers, headed by Assistant Professor Minh Le from the National University of Singapore (NUS), has developed an innovative delivery platform that resolves this issue. This work is a proof of concept that a single modification in extracellular vesicles (EV) bearing multiple immune-boosting molecules can improve the anti-tumoral efficacy of these agents, so important as TNFRSF agonists for controlling responses against cancer.
The product increases the efficacy of existing tumors and also drives the generation of tumor-specific immune memory, enabling to prevent recurrence on the same cancer type.
Reducing Systemic Toxicity
However, significant downsides of these immunotherapy agents are the dangerous side effects they can induce — damage not only to tumours but also normal tissues. The scientists’ approach with their EV-based delivery platform solves this problem by improving the retention of these immune-boosting molecules inside the tumor, which enables better therapeutic effects at lower doses of the drug and therefore lowers systemic toxicity.
In the study, EV-based delivery was significantly superior to the current standard of care (where immune-boosting molecules are given in their free soluble form) at inducing tumor-specific immunity, controlling tumor growth, providing survival benefit and promoting resistance to return-tumor challenge.
Given that these data demonstrate that this EV-based delivery platform not only enhances the treatment of established tumors but also boosts tumor-specific immune memory leading to protection against secondary tumors up to 90 days post primary tumor resection, this finding is remarkableasctime
Conclusion
This is an important step forward in the field of cancer immunotherapy: Development of a novel EV-based delivery vehicle for these agents. This innovative approach has the potential to change the cancer treatment paradigm by increasing the therapeutic effect and reducing toxic side effects, such as neuropathic pain, enabling safer more effective treatments for patients. Their scientists are now exploring ways to expand the role of this technology and make it more accessible, advancing the goal of managing, and possibly even overcoming, cancer.
