Birmingham: Researchers at the University of Birmingham believe that a new
method of genetically engineering immune cells could lead to improved
treatment of Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients.
The research, published in Cancer Immunology Research,
explains how the team were able to create immune cells (T-cells) that
use the presence of the Epstein-Barr virus to combat NPC.
NPC develops in the upper part of the throat known as the
nasopharynx, which connects the back of your nose to the back of your
mouth.
This particular cancer is unusually common throughout Southeast
Asia, particularly in Southern China, where it is the third most common
cancer in males. In this region, it accounts for 18% of all cancers*.
Though early stage disease responds well to treatment, the more advanced
cases have relatively low survival rates. As a result, there is a clear
need for improved therapies for this cancer.
Work is ongoing into understanding why NPC is more prevalent in
Southeast Asia than other regions. It is believed that it could stem
from a mixture of environmental and genetic factors.
Epstein-Barr virus is consistently detected in malignant cells of
NPC patients and, scientists believe, plays a role in the development of
the tumours. The virus is ubiquitous in the human population where it
usually persists as a life-long infection under the control of our
immune cells.
Because it appears to be so closely linked with development of
NPC, the research team were hopeful that the virus could be used as a
gateway for an immune cell based therapy.
Dr Steve Lee, from the Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Centre
at the University of Birmingham, explained, “There has been remarkable
success in genetically engineering a patient’s immune cells to treat
tumours in recent trials for leukaemia. We wanted to take a similar
approach to other cancers, namely NPC.”
Current approaches for generating immune cells for NPC treatment
are both time consuming and unreliable. The team think that this method
of producing large numbers of specific immune cells within just a few
days will provide more efficient treatments for patients.
Dr Lee added, “This research suggests that we might be able to
make a real difference to NPC patients. The next step is to explore how
we can test what we’ve found in the lab and develop a clinical trial.”
There is further hope that the genetically engineered cells could
prove useful in the treatment of other tumours that possess similar
molecules. Target cells with the Epstein Barr virus protein LMP2, and
the ‘tissue type’ molecule HLA A11 could also be treated. HLA11 is
carried by more than half of the population of Southern China.
-ENDS-
Notes to editors
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The work was funded by a Cancer Research UK Senior Cancer Fellowship Award to SPL, and by Hong Kong Cancer Fund.
(*)http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17035381