Researchers from Tel Aviv University and Texas propose to eradicate cancer using the body's natural nanotechnology
A new study led by a researcher from Tel Aviv University challenges the currently accepted methods of cancer treatment. According to the researchers, the approach of 'shelling' the cancer with long and aggressive series of chemotherapy and/or radiation is fundamentally wrong. Instead, they recommend giving the patient a small number of treatments to weaken the cancer, and then add a treatment that strengthens the immune system, and God forbid. In this way, the smart model developed by the scientists demonstrates, doctors will be able to manage the battle in a smart and efficient way, and help the good (the immune system) beat the bad (the cancer cells).
The groundbreaking research was conducted by Prof. Eshel Ben-Yaakov from the Faculty of Exact Sciences at Tel Aviv University, in collaboration with senior researchers from Rice University in Texas and Am Hospital. enough. Anderson, the leading cancer center in the USA. It was published in September 2014 in the journal PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America).
Why doesn't it work?
"Historically, we see that all the sophisticated drugs and treatments developed by scientists have had almost no effect on cancer death rates in the Western world in the last 40 years - which is certainly surprising," says Prof. Ben-Yaakov. "Researchers and doctors alike are asking themselves why this happens, and recently they are coming to the realization that we are failing because we do not deeply understand cancer and its mechanisms of action. Today it is known that a cancerous tumor is a very complex and intelligent system: it succeeds again and again in misleading the body's immune system, escaping from it, and even recruiting it to the benefit of the cancer itself. The conventional treatment protocols, which attack the cancer directly and aggressively, fail to deal with the sophistication of the enemy."
The great task facing scientists today is to deeply understand the intelligent mechanisms of action of the cancer system, and to find ways to help the immune system in its difficult and stubborn war.
Let's be smart about it
Studies in recent years have revealed that the immune system and cancer wage a highly sophisticated battle between them, using methods reminiscent of cyber warfare. Prof. Ben-Yaakov explains that "among these stalwarts, nanometer particles called exosomes, which carry bits of genetic information between cells, play a central role. The command line of the immune system - the dendritic cells in the bone marrow - sends the exosomes to its soldiers, the cells of the immune system, with critical information that allows them to identify the enemy, the cancer cells, coordinate the time of the attack, and even attack the cancer directly and disrupt its activity."
But it turns out that the cancer, for its part, fights back: it produces its own exosomes, similar to those of the immune system but loaded with misleading genetic information, and launches them back to the dendritic cells. Thus, through sophisticated 'cyberwarfare', the cancer succeeds in deceiving the immune system: it breaks into its communication network, cracks the codes and disrupts the communication between its parts, attacks the high command, 'disguises' itself as healthy cells and/or hides behind them, and sometimes even recruits the whole system in his favor.
The innovative model built by Prof. Ben-Yaakov and his colleagues deciphers for the first time the threads of the 'cyber warfare' between cancer and the immune system, points to the critical role of exosomes, and offers revolutionary solutions.
Helping the good to win
"Our model shows that when the exosomes are not taken into account, we see only two situations in the fight between the immune system and the cancerous enemy: a weak cancer and a strong immune system, or vice versa," says Prof. Ben-Yaakov. "But when you bring exosomes and their special role into the picture, it turns out that the reality is much more complex. Now we notice three possible situations: a. High level cancer and against it a low level of immunity - this is the condition of most cancer patients when the disease is discovered; B. Very high immunity against cancer, and in front of him a medium level and controlled cancer; and finally c. Attenuated cancer, controlled by an intermediate level vaccine.”
The researchers performed simulations that examined the changing power relations between the two adversaries - the cancer and the immune system - against different therapeutic strategies. First, treatment protocols accepted today were tested: series of 18 or 36 radiation treatments, and series of aggressive chemotherapy treatments. As expected, the treatment greatly weakened the cancer, but at the same time it also severely damaged the immune system; And when the vaccine weakened, the cancer returned and became stronger - a well-known phenomenon in oncology medicine. "My research partner, the senior oncologist Prof. Samir Hanash, taught me that this method is simply not effective," says Prof. Ben-Yaakov. "It is similar to dropping a 10-ton bomb that wreaks havoc and wipes out everything around it, indiscriminately. Faced with a system as smart and cunning as cancer - such a simple strategy is doomed to failure."
According to the new study, an intelligent change in the treatment protocol will yield much better results. The recommended protocol includes two stages: in the first stage, instead of an aggressive 'bombardment', the patient is given only a small number of radiotherapy or chemotherapy treatments; Then treatments are added to strengthen the immune system, and God forbid. Such a strategy will bring the patient from state A to state B, where the cancer is in a moderate and controlled state. In the next step, a few treatments to strengthen the immune system are enough to move to state C, where the immune system can, with moderate effort, control the cancer and even overcome it. At the same time, the patient's condition is monitored continuously, through a variety of tests for different parameters - such as the level of cancer cells, the level of dendritic cells and the level of exosomes in the blood - which indicate the power relationship between the cancer and the immune system at any given time. Many of these measures are already accessible today.
"The strategy we offer makes it possible to tailor the treatment individually to each patient, and to help the immune system in an informed and measured way, so that the balance of power between it and the cancer will gradually change in its favor," concludes Prof. Ben-Yaakov. "In other words, our new model allows doctors to conduct the battle in a smarter and more efficient way, and help the 'good guys' beat the 'bad guys.' We hope that soon we will be able to start testing our method in clinical trials, with the help of our colleagues at Am Hospital. enough. Anderson in Texas.”
