Single-cell analysis reveals clues about promising cancer therapy (Leukemia)

Medical Xpress / Yale University / Science Advances ^ | June 20, 2022 | Zhiliang Bai et al,

[ConservativeMind]

A type of cancer treatment known as CAR T therapy has shown great promise for blood cancer treatments in the last decade, but too often, patients relapse within a short time. Now, a team of researchers has uncovered some critical clues about why—potentially leading to treatments to prevent these relapses.

CAR T therapy involves isolating virus-fighting T cells from a patient's blood and genetically modifying them with chimeric antigen receptors (CAR), which target surface marker expressed on cancer cells. It has proven particularly effective in fighting blood cancers such as acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), lymphoma, and multiple myeloma. However, remissions in a significant number of subjects are short-lived.

The researchers set out to identify the differences between long-term remission patients and the patients who relapsed. They looked for patterns in the patients' cells. Of these 12 patients, five had a complete remission lasting more than five years, another five relapsed during the course of the trial.

The research team identified modules of co-expressed cytokines—secreted proteins that act as messengers for the immune system and which are key regulators in the orchestration of immune cells. Among these, they found that a group of cytokines representing T helper 2 (Th2) function was prominent in the cell profiles of the patients who had gone into remission for five years or more. Th2 cells are a subtype of cells that mediate the activation and maintenance of our immune response.

"This observation implies that Th2 function might be indispensable for maintaining a long-term remission in CAR T therapy," added study author, Zhiliang Bai.

Fan said the analysis provides valuable insights into the factors that determine why some patients go into lasting remission.

"It also suggests a potential biomarker to predict therapeutic outcomes prior to administering this costly and complex treatment in cancer patients," he said.

[ConservativeMind]

Testing for “cytokines representing T helper 2 (Th2) function” appears to tell doctors that your immunotherapy (not chemotherapy), will be more successful in forcing remission.

[ConservativeMind]

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[ifinnegan]

Maintaining remission if properly primed and stimulated.

[dsrtsage]

Why are they wasting money and resources on that when their is buttmonkey pox to be conquered?

[libh8er]

The Th2 finding should be useful not just for Car-t but other immunotherapies too, like BiSpecific Antibodies which offer a cheaper and tolerable option for many patients. BiSpecifics are a very hot area right now.