According to a recent study, a joint team of researchers from Israel and the US has obtained promising results regarding a new antibody-based treatment that has proven effective in stopping and even curing breast cancer.
A new antibody treatment gives hope to cancer patients. Archive photo
Researchers in Israel and their colleagues in the United States have developed an antibody-based treatment that stimulates the body’s immune system to effectively attack cancer cells and prevent their spread, the Weizmann Institute of Science (WIS) announced in a statement published on Monday , informs Xinhua.
WIS scientists say a form of breast cancer, known as triple-negative breast cancer, causes nearby immune cells to form so-called ‘molecular bridges’. They actually prevent immune cells from attacking tumors, leading to immune suppression.
The research team demonstrated in tests on mice that treatment with antibodies that block the formation of those bridges can increase the ability of the immune system to attack tumor cells, stopping their spread. They explained that although breast cancer cells develop very low levels of the protein CD84, which is used to build those bridges, they cause nearby immune cells to synthesize large amounts of that protein.
The study also found that higher levels of CD84 in the patients’ tumors were associated with shorter survival times. Experiments on mice genetically modified to lack CD84 showed less tumor growth, highlighting how CD84 in the tumor environment suppresses the activity of T cells in the immune system.
This antibody, administered twice a week to mice that had developed breast cancer, significantly slowed the growth of the tumors and, in some cases, led to complete cure. The authors of the study noted that the antibody in question selectively targets cells with high levels of CD84, thus sparing healthy immune cells, which synthesize this protein at lower levels.
The researchers suggested that the new therapeutic approach could be applied to different types of cancer, focusing treatment on the tumor microenvironment rather than the cancer cells themselves.
