A research team at Cardiff University may have accidentally discovered a new treatment for killing cancer cells.
The British scientists found a T-Cell that attaches itself to human cancer cells and kills them while ignoring healthy cells. Although in its early stages of development, the treatment successfully destroys bone, lung, breast, colon, prostate, and other cancers, according to The Telegraph.
Experts have applauded the study for its “great potential.” However, they remarked that they cannot yet confirm if it works for all types of cancers. Professor Daniel Davis of the University of Manchester said to the BBC:
“At the moment, this is very basic research and not close to actual medicines for patients. There is no question that it’s a very exciting discovery, both for advancing our basic knowledge about the immune system and for the possibility of future new medicines.”
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Originally, researchers were only looking for immune cells that were capable of fighting bacteria, before they discovered the T-Cell virus. Their findings were made available on Monday. Professor Andrew Sewell of Cardiff University remarked:
“There’s a chance here to treat every patient. Previously nobody believed this could be possible. It raises the prospect of a ‘one-size-fits-all’ cancer treatment, a single type of T-cell that could be capable of destroying many different types of cancers across the population.”
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A T-cell is a white blood cell in the immune system that fights off cancers and helps prevent the body from getting infected. Researchers note the receptors on the newly discovered T-cells may be able to locate cancers by using the molecule known as MR1. They believe this molecule could be alerting the T-cells of the infected metabolism present on cancerous cells. Co-author of the studies, Gary Dolton, said:
“We are the first to describe a T-cell that finds MR1 in cancer cells—that hasn’t been done before, this is the first of its kind.”
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In the past, researchers have gained knowledge of the human immune system through the growth of cancer immunotherapy. One of the most successful being that of CAR-T, better known as a drug made by genetically modifying an individuals T-Cell’s to destroy cancerous regions of the body. Astero Klampasta, a researcher at The Institute of Cancer Research in London, elaborated:
“CAR-T cells have to be engineered for each patient individually, to take into account the fact that each person’s immune cells have their own molecular ‘signature’—making the therapy very expensive and laboursome.”
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The improved cells would be grown in large quantities in the laboratory and then put back into the patient, which is the same process used to make CAR-T therapies. However, the research has only been tested in the lab and in animals, and more safety tests would be needed before human trials could start.
