A team of researchers at the University of Minnesota recently completed a human trial for a novel gene-editing treatment, which could provide hope to patients with late-stage gastrointestinal, or GI, cancers.
The treatment boosts the immune system’s ability to fight cancerous tumors by modifying tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell that can recognize and kill cancerous cells. Though similar approaches that work by activating the immune system have proven valuable for other cancers, few have been effective for GI cancers until now, co-author Tim Starr said.
“Your immune system is sending cells into your tumor,” Starr said. “But they’re not working, so can we soup them up?”
Individuals with metastatic cancer, meaning their cancer has spread to other parts of the body, have limited treatment options. With a new potential treatment option, researchers have the opportunity to fight advanced GI cancers with cells that patients already have in their own bodies.
For the treatment, researchers began by removing a portion of the tumor from the patient to grow the tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, or TILs, in the lab. Then, the patients had their cells edited, as researchers deleted a molecule called CISH, which typically dampens the TILs’ ability to fight cancerous cells.
Once the cells are edited, the TILs are multiplied and infused back into the patient.
In recent years, there has been an increase in the incidence of GI cancers in younger populations. Colorectal cancer, a type of GI cancer, is the third most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide.
Of the twelve metastatic patients who received the treatment, half saw their cancers stabilize after four weeks, meaning their tumors did not grow during this period. Branden Moriarity, an associate professor in the department of pediatrics, said one patient even went into full remission, as her tumors disappeared and have not returned for two and a half years.
None of the patients examined had the adverse side effects that accompany similar treatments, like severe neurological symptoms or cytokine storms, a condition that can trigger a potentially life-threatening inflammatory response.
The University of Minnesota’s specialized Molecular and Cell Therapeutics facility makes this promising treatment possible.
In addition to housing the novel cell and gene therapy research, the facility also runs the University of Minnesota Medical Center’s blood marrow transplant lab, which helps treat blood cancers and other blood disorders, said David McKenna, medical director of the MCT facility.
Though the trial’s results were encouraging, the research team must improve the effectiveness of the treatment, which might involve identifying additional genes to delete, Starr said. Some members of the team are starting a new initiative, known as the Minnesota TIL Alliance, to refine the treatment and broaden its applications.
The initiative will be a collaboration between researchers at the University to develop a new iteration of the treatment that can be applied to different cancers like ovarian cancer, breast cancer, and UV melanomas.
“We hope to develop a therapy that could be applied broadly to all these different kinds of cancers,” Moriarity said.
Correction: A previous version of this article said the TIL initiative will be a collaboration between researchers at the University and the Mayo Clinic. However, currently, the Mayo Clinic is unable to directly participate in the initiative.