Immunotherapy against cancer, namely the recruitment of the immune system to eliminate tumor, was considered by the «Science» magazine the main achievement of 2013, which became a “key year” in the war against cancer. The leading magazine presents a list of nine other major developments, from understanding the function of sleep to the transparent brain.
Breakthrough of the Year
“Immunotherapy against cancer won first place because it changes the mindset of researchers on how to treat the cancer,” writes the magazine.
This year, three approaches against cancer, which were based on discoveries in the 1980s and 1990s, proved effective in a significant proportion of patients tested.
The first relates to the CTLA-4, a protein found on the surface of T-cells of the immune system that substantially decelerates their action. In 1996, scientists discovered that an antibody that blocks CTLA-4 enables T-cells to attack tumors. In 2012, the company Bristol-Myers Squibb, which gained the rights for the discovery, said that treatment is the first to offer even a short extension of life in patients with metastatic melanoma.
The second immunotherapy refers to the PD-1, another molecule believed to break the action of T-cells. Clinical study started in 2006 has already shown that a PD-1 antibody shrinks tumors in various cancers.
A third immunotherapy, slightly different from the previous two, concerns the isolation of T-cells from the patient’s body, adding in these cells additional genes and transferring them back to the patient. Preliminary results from clinical trials suggest … read more
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