An innovative drug improves the effectiveness of cancer immunotherapy – Xinhua

CHICAGO, April 20 (Xinhua) – Researchers at the Institute for Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago have developed a new way to target immunotherapies and deliver them directly to tumors, helping to reduce side effects and make cancer treatments more effective.

According to a press release published Friday on the university's website, while other researchers have developed systems targeting a specific tumor-specific protein or tumor DNA, researchers at the ############################################################################### 39, University of Chicago take a unique approach: target collagen.

To administer the drugs to the tumor, the researchers linked the two treatments, one called checkpoint inhibitors (CPIs) and the other interleukin (IL) -2, to a circulating blood protein and binds to collagen in areas of vascular injury, causing it to coagulate and seal the wound. Since a tumor is filled with leaking blood vessels, the protein considers these vessels as a vascular lesion and binds to it, transmitting the treatments directly to the collagen of the tumor.

Intravenous treatment also has the advantage of finding and treating metastatic tumors in the body that are unknown to the patient.

As early results, the researchers found that a combination of IPC and IL-2 administered via their technique had eradicated bad tumors in 9 of the 13 animal models. In contrast, when the researchers administered the drugs without the collagen-seeking protein, only one bad tumor was eradicated.

The technique has also slowed the growth of melanoma and colon tumors and reduced the toxicity of drugs to the liver and lungs, which would result in a reduction of side effects for patients.

In the next step, researchers will work to further improve efficiency by exploring the technique with other molecules, including molecules developed for cancer treatments but deemed too toxic for patients. The ultimate goal is to start testing these combination therapies as part of clinical trials, ideally three years from now.

"This therapy could involve many solid tumors," said Jeffrey Hubbell, professor of tissue engineering and co-author of the research. "We want this to move to clinical trials and perhaps help patients who have not responded to these treatments before."

The study was published earlier this month in the journal Science Translational Medicine.