Modern science is continually evolving and making great strides in patient care. On the blog today we’re discussing a relatively new idea called adoptive cell therapy that has been changing the outlook for cancer patients. Did you know that everyone makes cancerous cells everyday? But, our immune systems recognizes the cancerous cells and does its job to destroy them. In a cancer patient, something goes wrong along the line and they are unable to destroy them and the cells are left unsupervised to proliferate out of control, causing tumors and cancerous tissues. Adoptive cell therapy, also known as cellular immunotherapy, is an approach to assist and enhance our already existing immune cells.
According to the Cancer Research Institute, “engineered TCR therapy” is one of the approaches being used. It works by equipping their existing T cells with new receptors that enable them to recognize and target specific cancer antigens. We’re developing personalized medicine people! I think it’s kinda crazy how science has evolved to the point where we can change a tiny tiny T cell receptor on one cell to fight the giant, aka cancer, that’s taken so many lives. Once we add that TCR to the T cell we can reinsert it into the body where it’ll proliferate and make its own entire army of clones to kill the cancerous cells. Then we can sit back (metaphorically) and let our immune system do its job.
The whole process lasts about 3 weeks, as claimed and discussed in an article from the Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School in Shenzhen, China. But I don’t mean that you’ll be cured in 3 weeks, just that after 3 weeks you’ll have the engineered T cells circulating in your body. The process is relatively straight forward. First scientists isolate T cells from the patient. Then, they are modified and stimulated outside the body by cytokines to proliferate and make an army. Lastly, the T cells are transfused back into the patient and they’re monitored for the following few days. But it’s not all rainbows and sunshine. 😦 Some pretreatment with chemotherapy must be done to promote the recovery and proliferation of immune cells, which has it’s own symptoms. There are also other possible risks associated with treatment such as Cytokine Release Syndrome (CRS)- which can cause long-term fever, hypotension, dyspnea, and organ problems- and neurotoxicity whose common symptoms include decreased consciousness, confusion, seizures, and brain edema. Currently, TCR therapies are very expensive, ringing in at about half a million dollars.
Now, I know that currently the risks and costs are very high, but these are very new approaches to curing cancer. We couldn’t have expected it to be a breeze. But the hope is that eventually scientists will be able to work out the kinks and personalized medicine will be a common occurrence, and one that is less risky than traditional general methods. Small steps in the right direction are better than no steps. We will win the fight someday.
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