Radiation therapy and cancer vaccines: Timing is everything

Treating tumors with radiotherapy first directly kills cancer cells and makes immunotherapy more effective

2014-03-24

(Press-News.org) (PHILADELPHIA) – Radiation therapy fights cancer in more ways than one. Not only does it force cancer cells to self-destruct, but several studies demonstrate that it also activates the immune system to attack tumor cells. This activation can be used to boost current immunotherapies, such as anti-tumor vaccines, to produce better clinical results. What's less clear, however, is exactly how to combine the two therapies to get the best bang for the therapeutic buck.

To address this question, researchers at Thomas Jefferson University tested an experimental cancer vaccine in combination with radiation therapy in mice with colorectal cancer. In research publishing online March 24th in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, they showed that the vaccine was most effective when tumors were irradiated first and then vaccinated a week later.

"Prior to these experiments, we didn't appreciate the impact that sequencing of these treatments had on their combined ability to generate immune and clinical responses," says Thomas Jefferson University radiation oncologist Matthew Witek M.D., first author of the study. "Remarkably, immune activation and tumor regression only occurred when radiation was given prior to vaccination."

When mice received either treatment alone, the researchers noticed only a modest reduction in tumor size. However, when radiation was given first, the investigators saw a six-fold increase in cancer-fighting immune cells, and impressively, complete remission of the majority of tumors.

Although the work will need to be reproduced in humans to determine if the same holds true for cancer patients, the finding is exciting, says lead researcher Adam Snook, Ph.D., an instructor in the department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. "In a patient population that will undergo radiation therapy as standard treatment, these results provide a roadmap to amplifying the effects of immunotherapies like the one we're developing for colon cancer."

Targeted Diagnostics & Therapeutics, Inc, which provided research funding that, in part, supported this work, has a license to commercialize inventions related to this work. The authors report no other conflict of interest.

INFORMATION:

This work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (RC1 CA146033, P30 CA56036, R01 CA170533), the Pennsylvania Department of Health (SAP #4100059197, SAP #4100051723), and Targeted Diagnostic and Therapeutics Inc. The Pennsylvania Department of Health specifically disclaims responsibility for any analyses, interpretations, or conclusions.

About Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson University (TJU), the largest freestanding academic medical center in Philadelphia, is nationally renowned for medical and health sciences education and innovative research. Founded in 1824, TJU includes Jefferson Medical College (JMC), one of the largest private medical schools in the country and ranked among the nation's best medical schools by U.S. News & World Report, and the Jefferson Schools of Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions, Population Health and the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. Jefferson University Physicians is TJU's multi-specialty physician practice consisting of the full-time faculty of JMC. Thomas Jefferson University partners with its clinical affiliate, Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals.

Article Reference: M. Witek, et al., "Tumor radiotherapy creates therapeutic vaccine response to the colorectal cancer antigen GUCY2C" International Journal of Radiation Oncology, 2014.

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Unfolded proteins collapse when exposed to heat and crowded environments

2014-03-24

Proteins are important molecules in our body and they fulfil a broad range of functions. For instance as enzymes they help to release energy from food and as muscle proteins they assist with motion. As antibodies they are involved in immune defence and as hormone receptors in signal transduction in cells. Until only recently it was assumed that all proteins take on a clearly defined three-dimensional structure – i.e. they fold in order to be able to assume these functions. Surprisingly, it has been shown that many important proteins occur as unfolded coils. Researchers ...

Diabetes drug shows promise in reducing Alzheimer's disease in an experimental model

2014-03-24

(Boston) Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have found that the diabetic drug, pramlintide, reduces amyloid-beta peptides, a major component of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in the brain and improves learning and memory in two experimental AD models. These findings, which appear online in Molecular Psychiatry, also found AD patients have a lower level of amylin in blood compared to those without this disease. These results may provide a new avenue for both treatment and diagnosis of AD. AD is a degenerative brain disease associated with severe functional ...

Fair bosses pay a price

2014-03-24

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Bosses who are fair make their workers happier and their companies more productive, but in the end may be burning themselves out. A new study led by Michigan State University's Russell E. Johnson found the act of carefully monitoring the fairness of workplace decisions wears down supervisors mentally and emotionally. "Structured, rule-bound fairness, known as procedural justice, is a double-edged sword for managers," said Johnson, assistant professor of management. "While beneficial for their employees and the organization, it's an especially draining ...

The unconscious mind can detect a liar -- even when the conscious mind fails

2014-03-24

When it comes to detecting deceit, your automatic associations may be more accurate than conscious thought in pegging truth-tellers and liars, according to research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. The findings suggest that conscious awareness may hinder our ability to detect whether someone is lying, perhaps because we tend to seek out behaviors that are supposedly stereotypical of liars, like averted eyes or fidgeting. But those behaviors may not be all that indicative of an untrustworthy person. "Our research ...

Leaders are wired to be task-focused or team-builders, but can be both

2014-03-24

What sort of leader are you? Do you think leading is all about a laser-like focus on the task, watching the bottom line and making sure everyone is doing what they should? Or is it about listening to your team, being open to ideas and perspectives, and inspiring them to find their own niche? Distinctions between a task-oriented leader and a social-emotional leader have filled the pages of academic literature for more than a half-century. But recent research strongly suggests the distinction has a foundation in our brains—which allows us to be either analytical or empathetic, ...

Want to survive the zombie apocalypse? This 'cologne' could be the key (video)

2014-03-24

WASHINGTON, March 24, 2014 — If you believe the doomsayers, a zombie apocalypse is coming, and you need to be prepared. On AMC's The Walking Dead, whose season finale airs Sunday, survivors are always worried about running out of bullets, arrows or even sharp sticks. But what if chemistry could help you get away from the flesh eaters? In the American Chemical Society's (ACS') latest Reactions video, we talk with chemist Raychelle Burks, Ph.D., who shares her recipe for a "death cologne" that might someday save you from the undead. The video is available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUEjmyisz7c. INFORMATION: Subscribe ...

Gene expression signature reveals new way to classify gum disease

2014-03-24

NEW YORK, NY (March 21, 2014) — Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) have devised a new system for classifying periodontal disease based on the genetic signature of affected tissue, rather than on clinical signs and symptoms. The new classification system, the first of its kind, may allow for earlier detection and more individualized treatment of severe periodontitis, before loss of teeth and supportive bone occurs. The findings were published recently in the online edition of the Journal of Dental Research. Currently, periodontal disease is classified ...

Inherited mutated gene raises lung cancer risk for women, those who never smoked

2014-03-24

DALLAS – March 21, 2014 – People who have an inherited mutation of a certain gene have a high chance of getting lung cancer — higher, even, than heavy smokers with or without the inherited mutation, according to new findings by cancer researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Although both genders have an equal risk of inheriting the mutation, those who develop lung cancer are mostly women and have never smoked, the researchers found. People with the rare inherited T790M mutation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene who have never smoked have a one-in-three ...

Researcher: Study on element could change ballgame on radioactive waste

2014-03-24

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Groundbreaking work by a team of chemists on a fringe element of the periodic table could change how the world stores radioactive waste and recycles fuel. The element is called californium — Cf if you're looking at the Periodic Table of Elements — and it's what Florida State Professor Thomas Albrecht-Schmitt, the lead researcher on the project, calls "wicked stuff." In carefully choreographed experiments, Albrecht-Schmitt and his colleagues found that californium had amazing abilities to bond and separate other materials. They also found it was extremely ...

Nasal spray delivers new type of depression treatment

2014-03-24

(Toronto) March 24, 2014 – A nasal spray that delivers a peptide to treat depression holds promise as a potential alternative therapeutic approach, research from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) shows. The study, led by CAMH's Dr. Fang Liu, is published online in Neuropsychopharmacology. In a previous study published in Nature Medicine in 2010, Dr. Liu developed a protein peptide that provided a highly targeted approach to treating depression that she hopes will have minimal side effects. The peptide was just as effective in relieving symptoms when ...

Radiation therapy and cancer vaccines: Timing is everything

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: