Transplantation of blood cells from a foreign source will destroy cancer cells as a treatment for metastatic melanoma * Research led by Dr. Ilana Iron Mauni' Tel Aviv will examine what is behind the "rebellion" of melanoma cells. The study will test ways to slow down the development of melanoma.
New principles in the treatment of advanced melanoma
Advanced malignant melanoma is a malignant disease that begins with a small local tumor that has spread to different parts of the body. The more advanced the disease, the smaller the chances of curing the disease, since it is malignant cells that are resistant to known treatments, including chemotherapy and radiation. Today, they are trying to develop new therapeutic approaches, based on treatment principles that do not depend on the sensitivity of the tumor cells to chemotherapy. Thus, biological treatments were developed based on the use of cells of the immune system as a means of eradicating cancer cells that are resistant to chemotherapy and radiation. These treatments are based on one of two therapeutic approaches: using immune system cells from a family member, or trying to activate the patient's own immune system cells against his tumor cells. The biological treatments, sometimes in combination with chemotherapy and surgical resection in metastatic melanoma disease, are today in their infancy.
about the research
Prof. Shimon Salvin, Director of the Department of Bone Marrow Transplantation, the National Center for Bone Marrow Transplantation and the Center for Cancer Immunotherapy at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital, heads a team of researchers specializing in the development of various biological methods for the treatment of various types of cancer. Many years of experience have shown that the use of the cells of the patient's own immune system against the cancer failed to destroy the tumor, apparently because the tumor cells are not recognized as foreign, and therefore the tumor was no longer destroyed at the one-cell stage at the beginning of the development of the malignant process. At the same time, the use of cells from a foreign donor, among hundreds of incurable patients with malignant blood diseases, proved that with the help of giving foreign immune cells, patients in advanced stages of their disease can be cured, even where all treatment methods such as powerful chemotherapy and radiation have failed. In many cases, the immune cells from a foreign source succeed in acting very efficiently and completely destroying the tumor cells, provided they recognize the malignant cells as foreign. In view of the fact that the immune system of a patient with advanced melanoma "disguises" and fails to recognize the tumor as foreign, since the tumor grows unhindered without the immune system opposing it, the researchers are now trying to use immune cells derived from a donor of a family member who recognize the tumor cells as foreign. One new treatment method is based on the use of foreign donor cells activated by various means, with the aim of turning them into "professional" killer cells, so that they can attack the tumor cells more strongly. This approach may be effective when the amount of tumor cells is small.
Another therapeutic approach, which is developing at the same time, is related to stimulating the cells of the patient's own immune system by vaccines with ingredients derived from cancer cells similar to those of the patient, which were originally taken from another patient. Vaccination with preparations such as these may lead to the development of an effective immune response against the patient's own tumor cells by the cells of the immune system that have been mobilized to fight cancer cell components, which they recognize as foreign, and therefore act against them. Again, the common denominator for both treatment approaches is related to stimulating the cells of the immune system by presenting the target as foreign to the cells of the immune system. It is the immunological difference between the attacking cells and the target cells that increases the effectiveness of the attack. Clinical trials will prove whether the working assumptions will indeed lead to the desired turning point in the treatment of malignant melanoma on the one hand, and other cancerous tumors on the other hand.
A new Israeli study will examine what is behind the "rebellion" of the melanoma cells
Malignant melanoma is a type of cancer that usually starts in the skin, a mole, or normal-looking skin. Rarely, this type of cancer can appear in other parts of the body, such as the eye, mouth, under the nails or inside the body. This type of cancer may even spread within the skin itself. Melanoma may indeed appear in most parts of the body, but in women the most common areas are the legs, and in men the center of the body, especially the back. Melanoma cells grow at an extremely fast rate and sometimes the cancer may spread to other parts of the body that are distant from the primary tumor through the lymph ducts or the bloodstream to invade the tissues, settle there, divide and form metastases. This "rebellious" behavior of the melanoma cells suggests that the cell control system, which normally monitors normal cells and does not allow an abnormal rate of division and migration to distant organs, has gone wrong. This disruption causes the tumor cells to constantly receive instructions to divide and migrate. The greater the disruption, the higher the malignancy of the cells.
about the research and the expected conclusions
The group of researchers from Tel Aviv University, led by Dr. Ilana Iron, managed to locate at least two important "relay stations" that work more strongly in the process of creating metastases from melanoma cells [these stations are called focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and mitogen activated protein kinase. MAP) The activity of the "relay stations" confuses the cells and contributes to the acceleration of the malignant process of the creation of metastases. Now the researchers are trying to learn how these "relay stations" work, whether they work independently or as a group and receive orders from other "relay stations". When it becomes clear how they work of the "relay stations" it will be possible to develop therapeutic measures or approaches that will contribute to slowing down the cancerous process of melanoma.
New Israeli research to find a vaccine for advanced melanoma patients
The research was awarded a mark of excellence by the Cancer Society
A new Israeli study funded by the Cancer Society led by Dr. Michal Lotem and Dr. Shoshana Frankenburg and assisted by a group of researchers from Hadassah Hospital is testing the effectiveness of an experimental vaccine intended for patients with advanced (metastatic) melanoma. In light of the initial results of this innovative study, the group of researchers was awarded a mark of excellence by the research committee of the Cancer Society.
Background for the research
Malignant melanoma is a type of cancer that usually starts in the skin, a mole, or normal-looking skin. Rarely, this type of cancer can appear in other parts of the body, such as the eye, mouth, under the nails or inside the body. This type of cancer may even spread within the skin itself. Melanoma may indeed appear in most parts of the body, but in women the most common areas are the legs, and in men the center of the body, especially the back. Melanoma cells grow at an extremely fast rate and sometimes the cancer may spread to other parts of the body that are distant from the primary tumor through the lymph ducts or the bloodstream to invade the tissues, settle there, divide and form metastases. There are several treatments designed for advanced melanoma, but there is an obvious need to develop an innovative approach. For example, the possibility is being tested that advanced melanoma can be cured with the help of a therapeutic vaccine that causes the immune response to intensify.
about the course of the research
The group of researchers from Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem, led by Dr. Michal Lotem and Dr. Shoshana Frankenburg, tested the effectiveness of a therapeutic vaccine that was prepared with the goal of activating the immune system so that it can identify and destroy melanoma cells. The basis of the vaccine is the use of immune system cells called dendrites. These cells, which are extracted from blood, have a unique feature: they adapt, under special conditions, the "identity card" of other cells, and "give them over" to the immune system. As part of the study, the dendritic cells of the patients were prepared in the laboratory with the melanoma cells, and then injected into the patients.
on the results of the study
16 patients with metastatic melanoma participated in this study. In two patients, their disease was in remission for 7 to 14 months. One patient responded to treatment partially and not immediately. These results show the success of the treatment in 19% of the cases. In light of the fact that this research is in its infancy, the treatment has no significant side effects and has been tried in particularly difficult cases of melanoma, their results should be considered a basis for the continued development of this promising therapeutic approach. It is important to note that in addition to this study, there are other treatments for melanoma based on immunology. Thus, treatment is given to prevent the recurrence of the disease, and other immunotherapies are in the research stages.
