New Approach Could Boost Effectiveness of Immunotherapies Against Colorectal Cancer

Colorectal cancer presents in many forms, with the most common type being microsatellite-stable colorectal cancer. This cancer type is common in the initial stages of colon cancer and rectal cancer, occurring in roughly 85% of colorectal cancers.

Unlike patients with microsatellite unstable colorectal cancer, patients with this cancer respond to few immunotherapies designed to activate their immune systems to fight the cancer. Now new research has determined a potential cause of other therapies failing and found a way to improve the treatment for patients with this indication.

The study was led by Victoria Stary from MedUni Vienna’s Comprehensive Cancer Center.

For their research, the investigators focused on γδ T cells, which are immune cells playing a role in immune disorders linked to colorectal cancer. Unlike αβ T cells, which recognize pathogens in the body only when made aware by other cells, γδ T cells react to signals emitted by possibly diseased cells directly. This makes them an extremely effective part of the immune system.

The investigators carried out complex analyzes which demonstrated that a subdivision of these cells, referred to as Vδ1+ T cells, couldn’t function adequately to eliminate cancer in patients who suffered from microsatellite-stable colorectal cancer. They discovered that it was fibroblasts which released substances that blocked Vδ1+ T cell activity. The tissue samples used in their analyzes were obtained after surgical resection from patients with no history of cytoablative treatment or irradiation therapy.

In their report, Stary explained that this blockade could be reversed partially if molecules known as TIGIT were obstructed on the Vδ1+ T cells. This enabled the T cells to fight cancer cells much better.

These recent discoveries offer potential explanations about why some treatments fail while also highlighting promising options that can be used. The investigators note in their report that their research demonstrated that both the γδ T cells and αβ T cells play a role in microsatellite-stable colorectal cancer.

Stary recommended that future studies target γδ T cells and their interactions with other cells in the tumor microenvironment to develop ways to improve the success of treatments in microsatellite-stable colorectal cancer.

The research’s findings were reported in “Nature Communications.” Other researchers who were part of the study include Nina Pilat, Ram V. Pandey, Michael Bergmann, Julia List, Hannes Stockinger, Lisa Kleissl, Georg Stary, Florian Deckert, Anne B. Vogt, Julijan Kabiljo, Johannes Laengle, Samuel W. Lukowski, Vasileios Gerakopoulos, Matthias Farlik, Rudolf Oehler and Lukas Watzke.

As more research resources are directed by academia and publicly traded entities such as Scinai Immunotherapeutics Ltd. (NASDAQ: SCNI) into studying how to increase the efficacy of immunotherapy against cancer, different categories of patients could soon have viable forms of these treatments applicable in the management of their specific cancers.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Scinai Immunotherapeutics Ltd. (NASDAQ: SCNI) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/SCNI

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