According to 2018 data, cancer continues to affect the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans as the second-leading cause of death. Luckily, numerous researchers, scientists, and doctors are working tirelessly to find new ways to treat and eventually cure cancer. Though treatments such as radiation, chemotherapy, and surgery are effective and widely used, a new promising therapy focuses on altering human T cells in a way that “teaches” them to damage and kill cancerous cells. Currently, CAR-T cell therapy, a drug-therapy that uses modified T cells, can be employed, however it is very cancer-specific and is not very effective against tumors, which limits its’ capabilities. However, researchers believe that they have found a new T-cell therapy that would have the potential of treating different cancers in different individuals. Though this treatment will require many more trials and tests, it is truly impressive to know that this kind of technology is available.
This new proposed therapy would involve the removal of a patients T cells. These T cells would then be genetically modified to respond to the patient’s cancer cells and inserted back into the patient. Unlike, in CAR-T cell therapy where T cells rely on varying human leukocyte antigens, this new T cell therapy would respond to a MR1 molecule, which does not change from person to person. During lab testing, the modified T cells were able to attack cancerous lung, colon, breast, and skin cells, to name a few. In addition, these T cells did not affect healthy cells, making the results even more promising. It is also important to note that this new therapy does not appear to be more invasive than other common cancer treatments and it can be used in unison with these other treatments to help eliminate additional cancerous cells while the patient’s T cells are being prepared.
The fact that these T cells are able to combat so many different types of cancers is truly mindboggling. It is important to note that this therapy has not been tested on individuals, so it is difficult to know its true effectiveness, but it appears to be a step in the right direction. Moving forward, more research has to be done to see if these findings can be replicated and once it is deemed safe, human trials would be necessary. As I review these new findings, I can’t help but think about the emotional impact these new therapies may have on patients and families. I sadly never got to meet either grandfather because they both died from lung cancer before I was born, but it makes me hopeful knowing that other families may not have to go through a similar tragedy. T cell therapies are a promising new cancer treatment that we should continue to explore and perfect. With these new strategies in hand, we might be closer to curing cancer than we think! Fingers crossed.
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Mortality in the United States, 2018. 30 Jan. 2020, https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db355.htm.
Gallagher, James. Immune Discovery “May Treat All Cancer.” 20 Jan. 2020, https://www.bbc.com/news/health-51182451.
Miller, Ryan W. New Discovery May Lead to “one-Size-Fits-All” Cancer Treatment One Day, Researchers Say. 22 Jan. 2020, https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2020/01/22/cancer-treatment-study-t-cell-finding-may-lead-universal-therapy/4529056002/.
National Cancer Institute. T-Cell Transfer Therapy. 24 Sept. 2019, https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/types/immunotherapy/t-cell-transfer-therapy.
Micro Michelle 
Very informative as always!
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