Scientists Test the Combination of Immunotherapies To Eliminate Solid Tumors
Scientists have recently incorporated two potent immunotherapies—the oncolytic virus and CAR T cell therapy.
The City Hope researchers have recently incorporated two potent immunotherapies. These are the oncolytic virus and chimeric antigen receptor or CAR T cell therapy.
The integration aims to target and eliminate solid tumors, otherwise difficult to cure with just the CAR T treatment. This finding was indicated in a new Science Translational Medicine research.
In a preclinical study that could eventually lead to a clinical test for patients who have "intractable solid tumors," researchers inherently plotted an oncolytic virus to go into the tumor cells and "force their expression of CD19 protein" on the surface of their cell.
In addition, the study authors were then able to utilize the CD19-directed CAR T cells to identify these solid tumors' attack.
CD19-CAR T Cell Therapy
CD19-CAR T Cell Therapy is a US Food and Drug Administration-approved therapy to treat some types of blood cancers such as B cell lymphomas and acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
This latest study may expand the use of CD19-CAR T cells to treat patients who potentially have any of the solid tumors.
According to the study's senior author, Saul Priceman, Ph.D., their study exhibits that oncolytic viruses are a prevailing and encouraging method that can be integrated tactically with CAR T cell treatment to more efficiently target solid tumors.
Additionally, according to Priceman, who is also an assistant professor at the Department Hematology & Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation of the City of Hope, this therapeutic mechanism deals with two significant challenges that make solid tumors very hard to treat through the use of immunotherapy.
The assistant professor also said, there exist limited established solid tumor targets that T cells can be redirected against with CARs.
"Solid tumors are bordered by a brick wall known as the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment," explained Priceman.
As indicated in the study, when there is an attempt by CAR T cells to enter the tumor, survive, and destroy cancer cells, it cannot work effectively due to such a barrier.
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Key Findings
Study authors found some critical components in their research. Anthony Park Ph.D., a postdoctoral in Priceman's laboratory, said when they infected tumor cells with the virus, they noticed the first indication that it could work.
The tumor cells expressed the CD19t much sooner than the virus was able to destroy them, providing a window of opportunity to be targeted by CD19-CAR T cells, Park added. He also said the two immunotherapies' combination had a synergistic and powerful impact.
Furthermore, scientists presented as well, that the mice model used in their study already got treated of their cancer with the combination of the two immunotherapies exhibited long-term shielding anti-tumor immunity.
Also, according to Park, solid tumors are frequently immunologically cold. Meaning, they are not usually responsive to treatments that utilize the own immune system of the body to combat cancer.
The study presents the collaborative approach of the City of Hope to seeking better immunotherapy treatments for cancer.
The test would initially try OV19t's safety in patients who have solid tumors. If proven safe and efficient, the combination of the said two immunotherapies could then be tested in order. This particular trial is said to be expected to begin in 2022.
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