New therapy disguises cancer cells as viruses

A novel cancer treatment has been shown to eliminate or shrink tumours in 100 mice, according to a study by the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The treatment causes antiviral T cells to recognise tumors as virus-infected cells, and thus attack them.

'Tumour-specific T cells are very rare and not very efficient,' explained Dr Yoram Reiter of the Technion Faculty of Biology. 'On the other hand, the body has antiviral T cells that are very efficient at recognising cells that don't belong.'

The team genetically engineered a molecule that is naturally found in the body. On one side of the molecule is an antibody designed to attach itself to a specific type of cancer cell. On the other side, the team placed a molecule called major histocompatability complex (MHC) that allows T cells to recognise if the cells are 'self' or 'foreign' through its peptides.

The team places peptides on the molecule that tell T cells that tumours are actually virus-infected cells, causing them to target and kill them. This process can be designed for any type of tumour, and to attract any type of antiviral T cell. Over the past two years, the researchers have conducted test tube and animal experiments, shrinking or eliminating tumours in mice that replicate human cancers such as breast cancer and leukemia.

Reiter cautions that many approaches in cancer research have been successful in mice but do not translate to humans. He remains optimistic, however, and strongly believes the process will not be toxic since it is based on natural molecules in the immune system.