An experimental drug has halted the spread of pancreatic cancer in tests, scientists have revealed.
The breakthrough, revealed last night in Cancer Cell, comes after Cancer Research UK scientists, working with AstraZeneca’s Oncology Innovative Medicines Unit, showed that a protein called CXCR2 helps to guard the tumour.
Studying pancreatic cancer samples from patients and in mice, they found that an experimental drug was able to break down pancreatic cancer’s defences, which allowed immune cells to enter and attack the tumour.
When the blocking process was used with drugs that boost the immune system, the research team saw an influx of T-cells into the tumour that were primed to attack the disease, which improved the survival of mice.
Dr Jennifer Morton, lead researcher based at the Beatson Institute in Glasgow, said: “One of the most striking effects of blocking CXCR2 was the rush of T-cells into the tumour. This influx may be responsible for the improved success of gemcitabine and also made the tumours more sensitive to immunotherapy.
“Future approaches to using immunotherapy for pancreatic cancer suggest that using a CXCR2 blocking drug may be most effective to prime the tumour.”
Professor Peter Johnson, Cancer Research UK’s chief clinician, said with pancreatic cancer being very hard to treat, this experimental drug could “unleash a powerful weapon against this deadly disease”.
“Pancreatic cancer has proven hard to treat with immunotherapy, because it is often shielded by cells that fend off the immune system,” he said.
“This study suggests that we could overcome this by using immunotherapies with drugs that target the CXCR2 protein, letting the immune cells in to attack the cancer.”
Steele C, et al. CXCR2 inhibition profoundly suppresses metastases ad augments immunotherapy in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Cancer Cell 2016. June 2016.
Leave a Reply