Novel immunotherapy prevents cervical, lung cancer in mice

Researchers at the University of Louisville have been testing a protein-based molecule they originally developed to boost the power of T cells in treating cancer. But in the course of testing the protein in mice, they made a surprising discovery: The drug, dubbed SA-4-1BBL, protected normal mice from developing cancer in the first place. The team developed SA-4-1BBL to be used in conjunction with adaptive T cells that would be trained to target tumors for destruction. But when they gave the drug by itself to healthy mice, and then exposed the mice to cervical and lung cancer cells, the animals were largely protected against tumor development for more than eight weeks. The researchers reported their findings in the journal Cancer Research. "The novelty we are reporting is the ability of this molecule to generate an immune response that patrols the body for the presence of rare tumor cells and to eliminate cancer before it takes hold in the body," said Haval Shirwan, Ph.D., a professor at the University of Louisville Institute for Cellular Therapeutics, in a statement.