New approach to cancer immunotherapy

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Scientists funded by the charity Cancer Research UK have discovered that linking an antigen to a so-called saboteur molecule triggers the immune system to selectively destroy cancer cells. These findings could potentially be used to selectively destroy tumour cells while ignoring healthy cells.  

Mice were immunised with an antigen linked to a CpG saboteur molecule. The antigen targeted the CpG into specific cells, triggering the immune system to produce antibodies that target and destroy cancer cells.

The scientists demonstrated that mice immunised with different antigen-CpG complexes had boosted antibody responses when compared with immunisation with the same antigen not linked to CpG.

This new strategy could be used for cancer vaccines that stimulate specific immune responses against faulty proteins in tumour cells. The technique in effect supercharges the body’s immune system to help it fight cancer.

Facundo Batista, based at Cancer Research UK’s London Research Institute, said, “This technique allows antibodies to be produced to recognise very specific altered proteins in a tumour cell while ignoring the proteins in a healthy cell.” This discovery suggests a route to make treatment as specific as possible.