Antibody Discovery: New Breast Cancer Treatments
- A new potential antibody therapy strategy which restricts the growth of treatment-resistant breast cancers has been developed by scientists at King's College London.
- The team designed an antibody that not only attacks the tumor cells directly, but also harnesses the body's own immune defenses.
- researchers have been modifying antibodies to boost their ability to activate immune cells,but highly effective antibodies for breast cancer treatment are still needed.
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New Antibody Therapy Shows Promise Against Treatment-Resistant Breast Cancer
Table of Contents
What is the New Therapy?
A new potential antibody therapy strategy which restricts the growth of treatment-resistant breast cancers has been developed by scientists at King’s College London. This discovery could provide new treatment options for some of the most aggressive forms of breast cancer. This is particularly vital for patients whose cancers no longer respond to existing therapies, as well as those with triple-negative breast cancer – a subtype which lacks the receptors which are common drug targets, where treatment choices remain very limited.
The team designed an antibody that not only attacks the tumor cells directly, but also harnesses the body’s own immune defenses. This first-of-its-kind ‘triple-engineered antibody’ latches onto cancer cells on one end and draws in immune cells on the othre.
The Importance of Immunotherapy in Breast Cancer Treatment
researchers have been modifying antibodies to boost their ability to activate immune cells,but highly effective antibodies for breast cancer treatment are still needed. The Breast Cancer Now Research Unit at King’s College London has been at the forefront of this research for more than a decade,focusing on studying the patient’s immune system with a view to designing and testing innovative antibodies able to activate the patient’s immune response.
How Does the Antibody Work?
Laboratory experiments and animal models revealed that the modified antibody bound immune cells more strongly compared to current treatments. This activated the immune cells already present in the tumor to attack it, limiting the growth of tumors in triple-negative and treatment-resistant breast cancers.
The researchers also found that the modified antibody activated immune cells circulating in the bloodstream,which could boost the body’s overall ability to detect and fight cancer.
By making a few key changes in the structure of the antibody, we found that it could activate the immune system much more powerfully than an unmodified antibody currently used in breast cancer treatment.
Many of the immune cells in breast tumors are in a ‘suppressed’ state, arduous to activate with unmodified antibodies. We found our triple-engineered antibodies were not only able to activate these immune cells to kill the cancer cells, but shifted these immune cells to a more ’activated’ state overall.
Dr. Alicia Chenoweth, First author, Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine, King’s College London
expert Analysis
Understanding Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive subtype of