Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
A novel kind of immunotherapy has produced positive results in treating the most severe form of skin cancer. The investigation looks at whether a novel antibody can identify and treat melanomas.
The results show that the antibody suppresses the development of melanoma in mice when tested and enhances the immune system’s response to combat cancer. Malignant melanoma, is the most dangerous type of skin cancer, with a dismal five-year survival rate for half of patients. Numerous people’s tumours continue to be resistant to immunotherapies, despite considerable developments in the field (drugs that stimulate the body’s natural defensive system to attack cancer).
This drug may be helpful for melanoma patients who are not responding to their current treatment, the study stated. People used IgG antibodies in current immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer. However, scientists from Guy’s and St. Thomas’ Hospital and King’s College London have created an IgE antibody that can use the patient’s own immune system to target cancer in a new way.
To target a marker on the surface of human melanoma cells termed chondroitin sulphate proteoglycan 4 (CSPG4), which is present in up to 70 per cent of melanomas, researchers created an IgE antibody. The immune system’s defences are widely utilised by immunotherapies now on the market, but this novel antibody was created to particularly target immune responses against melanoma cells. In order to destroy human melanoma cancer cells, the researchers demonstrated that CSPG4 IgE could bind to and activate immune cells present in the blood of melanoma patients. In mice transplanted with human immune cells, including cells from melanoma patients, CSPG4 IgE therapy inhibited cancer progression.
A patient blood allergy test revealed that CSPG4 IgE did not activate basophils, a kind of white blood cell, suggesting that the medication may be safe to consume.
What is melanoma?
The cells (melanocytes) that make melanin, the pigment responsible for your skin’s colour, evolve into melanoma, the most dangerous kind of skin cancer. Additionally, melanoma can develop in your eyes and, very rarely, within your body, including in your throat or nose, according to Mayo Clinic.
Symptoms
A difference in an existing mole
The appearance of a new, pigmented growth or other uncharacteristic feature on your skin
