Preclinical research published in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer points to a promising new treatment option for people with pancreatic cancer.
Nov 10 2023Virginia Commonwealth University Researchers from VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center and the VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine suggest that when used in a form that can be delivered directly into the tumor cell, polyinosine–polycytidylic acid suppresses tumor growth, induces cancer cell death and enhances survival in animal models with the most common form of pancreatic cancer.
This research is the extension of pioneering work originally done by Fisher and colleagues to define ways of enhancing the anti-cancer activity of pIC. Previous clinical trials with pIC showed limited activation of the immune response and no detectable antitumor effects in melanoma or other cancers. However, when delivered into the tumor cell's cytoplasm using polyethyleneimine , a synthetic, water-soluble polymer, pIC can successfully enter the cell and stimulate tumor cell death.
The study also demonstrates the mechanism of pIC's effectiveness, and the immune system's profound role in that pathway. The pIC activates Stat1, a gene expression stimulatory molecule, which in turn activates chemokines – proteins that stimulate immune cell migration – to heighten the immune system's response to the cancerous cells.
Fisher said that though this study's positive results are demonstrated specifically in pancreatic cancer, the approach should work in multiple cancer types and could become a generalized therapy in combination with cancer-specific standards of care. Moreover, encouraging data in phase I studies using pIC-PEI as a single agent, or in combination with the immune checkpoint inhibitor anti-PD-1, was found safe and manageable in patients with aggressive solid cancers other than PDAC.
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