Researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science have developed a groundbreaking method that forces cancer cells to reveal themselves to the immune system. This new approach, detailed in the journal Cancer Cell, involves disrupting the protein production process in cancer cells, causing them to display abnormal proteins that the immune system can recognize and attack.
Immunotherapy, a leading cancer treatment, uses the immune system to target cancer cells. However, it only works for some patients because cancer cells often evade detection. Prof. Yardena Samuels and her team expanded the range of targets the immune system can identify in cancer cells by deleting a key enzyme in the protein production process. This deletion makes cancer cells produce faulty proteins, which the immune system sees as threats and thus attacks.
In mouse experiments, combining this new method with existing immunotherapy significantly improved outcomes, with 40% of cases showing tumor reduction or complete disappearance.
"Finding a new predictive index for the effectiveness of immunotherapy treatments will make it possible to offer them to patients who have so far been denied treatment," explains Prof. Samuels.
The research opens up new possibilities for cancer treatment by targeting the protein production process. Collaborations with Stanford University and AI tools are underway to find more targets for disrupting protein production in various cancers, including breast, colon, and pancreatic cancer.
A version of this article was first published in Arutz Sheva.
