Scientists will use a "hybrid" virus to treat cancer
Last reviewed: 16.10.2021
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To teach the immune system to recognize cancer cells, you can use a "hybrid" virus.
Immunity should not only react to bacteria and viruses; Cancer cells for our body are no less an alien element than external pathogens. But quite often a malignant tumor can deceive the immune system. Scientists have long been trying to find a way to "play along" with the immunity of cancer patients so that their defense system wakes up and fully attacks the malignant cells.
Scientists from Strasbourg University (France) made an attempt to create a vaccine against cancer based on the virus. Like any other vaccine, it must "train" immunity; only in this case the immune system needed to show not a semi-dead infection (as with conventional vaccines), but the characteristic signs of cancer cells.
With malignant degeneration, the cell literally changes its appearance: special proteins appear on its surface, characteristic for cancer cells and more for no other. That is, these proteins could be a good target for immunity.
In their experiments, researchers used one of the types of lung cancer, and to show the surface protein of the cancer cell immunity, one of the poxviruses was selected . Among them there is, for example, the causative agent of smallpox, but in this case the virus was harmless to humans - especially after a number of genetic manipulations. He was provided with a protein of lung cancer cells and injected with cancer. Strictly speaking, the virus in this particular was only the messenger, who was carrying the cancerous protein to immune cells, making it more visible for immunity.
A total of 148 people participated in the study; half underwent usual chemotherapy, the rest passed it, but together with the modified virus. As the researchers write in the journal Lancet Oncology, vaccination has had a positive effect. Those who received chemotherapy along with the viral vaccine stabilized six months after the start of vaccination. The development of cancer has slowed by 43% compared with 35% in those who have been treated with conventional drugs.
However, in the end, there was not much reason for joy: the vaccine stabilized the disease, but it did not change the overall picture of the survival of patients with lung cancer. Nevertheless, researchers believe that they are on the right track and this way to make immunity more vigorous to work against cancer will still justify itself. The vaccine seems to have stopped halfway, and now we need to find out why this happened ...