Accurate decoding of breast cancer cells opens the door to a new treatment option

Researchers from the University of Zurich and IBM Research have studied the varying composition of cancer and immune cells in more than a hundred bad tumors. They found that aggressive tumors are often dominated by a single type of tumor cell. If some immune cells are also present, immune therapy might be effective for a specific group of bad cancer patients.

Every year, more than 1.7 million women around the world are diagnosed with bad cancer, which puts an end to about half a million patients. In the fight against bad cancer, research is underway on new therapeutic approaches designed to specifically target cancer cells and activate the tumor-badociated immune system. Until now, however, little was known about the different cancer and immune cells present in a tumor and how they differed from one patient to the other.

Mbad cytometry unties cell diversity

Johanna Wagner of the University of Zurich has partnered with Marianna Rapsomaniki of IBM Research Rüschlikon and the Patient Tumors Bank of Hope to examine by mbad cytometry several millions of cancer and immune cells from 140 patients and immune cells. "With this technology, we have been able to look very closely at the diversity of cancer cells and describe the number of types of cancer cells present in a tumor," says Wagner, who is currently working on his Ph.D. under the direction of Bernd Bodenmiller, a professor at the new Department of Quantitative Biomedicine, whose group specializes in tissue badysis in precision medicine.

Along with this, they also badyzed the macrophages and T cells badociated with the tumor of the immune system, which could attack the tumor – but also support it. If the activated immune system launches a successful attack, the bad cancer cells are destroyed. But if the nearby immune cells are inactivated, the bad cancer cells survive the attack.

Each tumor is unique in terms of cell composition

The researchers found that the earlier hypothesis that a greater diversity of tumor cells was present in more aggressive tumors was false. The most aggressive tumors are in most cases dominated by a single type of tumor cell, which often has a high degree of abnormality. "Each tumor we examined was unique in terms of cell composition, which varied from one patient to the other.This could be one of the reasons we have so much trouble treating the bad cancer, "said Wagner.

Patients with bad cancer may benefit from immune therapy

At the same time, scientists have discovered similarities in the immune system badociated with tumors between aggressive tumors. Among a group of patients with bad cancer, they found an accumulation of inactive immune cells successfully activated by immune therapy to fight lung cancer and skin cancer. This included patients who had not previously been considered suitable candidates for immune therapy to treat bad cancer.

A comprehensive badysis of cancer and immune cells from a tumor could therefore provide a good basis for precision medicine therapies. "Our results suggest that immune therapy could potentially be effective against bad cancer, and if we succeed, they will be extended to a clinical trial," says Professor Bodenmiller.