Hope for Melanoma Patients: Researchers Discover New Weapon in the Fight Against Skin Cancer
A breakthrough study published in Nature Communications has identified a novel immunotherapy that shows promising results in targeting aggressive melanomas. The therapy utilizes a new class of IgE antibodies that can target immune responses specifically towards melanoma cells, providing hope for melanoma patients who do not respond to existing treatments.
Promising results have emerged from a study investigating a new class of immunotherapy for combatting the most aggressive form of skin cancer.
The research, published in Nature Communications by a team of researchers from King’s College London and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, focuses on the efficacy of a novel antibody in targeting and treating melanomas.
The results indicate that the antibody can activate the immune response to fight cancer, ultimately slowing melanoma growth in mice.
These findings hold significant promise for patients with melanoma, particularly those who are unresponsive to existing treatments.
Malignant melanoma, the most aggressive form of skin cancer, has poor survival rates for 50% of patients within five years of diagnosis. Despite substantial progress in developing immunotherapies that stimulate the body’s own defense system to attack cancer, many patients’ tumors remain unresponsive to existing treatments.
The newly developed IgE antibody by researchers at King’s College London and Guy’s and St Thomas’ offers hope for melanoma patients who do not respond to traditional therapies.
Unlike existing immunotherapies that use IgG antibodies, the novel treatment utilizes IgE antibodies to activate the patient’s immune system and attack cancer in a unique way.
In a bid to tackle melanoma, researchers developed a highly specific IgE antibody that targets a marker on the surface of human melanoma cells called chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan 4 (CSPG4), which is found on up to 70% of melanomas. Unlike existing immunotherapies that rely on the immune system’s broad defense mechanisms, this new antibody was designed to hone in specifically on melanoma cells.
The study demonstrated that CSPG4 IgE attaches to and activates immune cells present in the blood of melanoma patients to kill human melanoma cancer cells. Furthermore, when tested on mice implanted with human immune cells, including cells from patients with melanoma, CSPG4 IgE treatment slowed cancer growth. Allergy tests performed on patient blood indicated that CSPG4 IgE did not activate basophils, a type of white blood cell, suggesting the therapy may be safe for patients.
“We have shown that an immune response can be triggered by IgE immunotherapy for melanoma and that this applies to human melanomas and to melanoma patient immune responses,” remarks Dr Heather Bax, Postdoctoral Research Fellow from St. John’s Institute of Dermatology, King’s College London.
“Our findings replicate existing observations for MOv18 IgE, the first anti-cancer IgE, which targets ovarian cancer, and supports development of IgE therapies for other solid tumors.”
According to Professor Sophia Karagiannis, from St. John’s Institute of Dermatology at King’s College London, available treatments for advanced melanoma fail to work for 40% of patients. However, the study’s findings demonstrate that the human immune system responds differently in the presence of IgE antibody-based drugs, which suggests the potential for IgE antibodies to generate an effective response against melanoma. This discovery opens the door for this new class of drugs to benefit various patient groups and represents a new frontier in the fight against cancer.
“We have recently completed the first-ever trial testing an IgE therapy for cancer (MOv18 IgE), and are excited about the prospect of a whole new class of antibody drugs in oncology,” comments Professor James Spicer, from King’s College London and a Consultant at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.
“The collaboration between the King’s College London and Guy’s and St Thomas’ research groups is close and ever more productive.”
King’s College London has generated the first IgE antibody, MOv18 IgE, which is currently being trialled for ovarian cancer. The results of the trial are anticipated to be published later in 2023. Epsilogen Ltd, which was spun out from King’s College London in 2017, owns the rights to both MOv18 IgE and CSPG4 IgE. The company has successfully secured venture capital financing from multiple investors.
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