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June 15, 2005

Chemotherapy For Brain Tumors Is Boosted After Vaccine Targets Resistance-related Antigen

Topics: Brain Tumors

According to new research, there's promising new hope on the horizon in the treatment of brain cancer and other 'difficult to treat' malignancies.

In the August issue of the journal Oncogene, researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute describe a molecular mechanism that appears to make malignant brain tumors more vulnerable to chemotherapy after they have been treated with the dendritic cell vaccine.

This finding builds on several studies recently published by the research team. In 2003, they reported that a protein fragment previously found in melanomas also was detected in highly aggressive brain tumors called glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). The immune system recognizes the peptide, Tyrosinase-Related Protein (TRP)-2, as a foreign invader, making it a significant target for immunotherapy.

"Our findings suggest that TRP-2 could be a powerful molecule linking chemotherapy and immunotherapy," said Keith L. Black, M.D, one of the paper's authors, director of the Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute and director of the medical center's Division of Neurosurgery and Comprehensive Brain Tumor Program.

"Based on our results, it appears that we can improve chemotherapy sensitivity by targeting TRP-2 and possibly other drug-resistant related tumor antigens. This may be a significant step in the fight against brain tumors and other malignant cancers because even as we have been able to develop very powerful and targeted chemicals, tumors have often been able to outmaneuver them,"

Read more ...

Suggested readings:
ACS "Cancer Vaccines"

Dendritic cell fusion vaccines for cancer immunotherapy.

Development of cancer vaccines to activate cytotoxic T lymphocytes.

Posted by Richard at June 15, 2005 10:20 PM

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