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Mesothelin engineered on virus-like particles provides treatment clues for pancreatic cancer
February 15, 2008New understanding of a protein that spurs the growth of pancreatic cancer could lead to a new vaccine against the deadly disease, said researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston in a report appearing in the current edition of the journal Molecular Cancer Therapeutics.
The protein called mesothelin appears to play an important role in promoting pancreatic cancer growth, said the senior author Dr. Qizhi (Cathy) Yao, professor of surgery - vascular surgery at BCM. She, along with co-lead authors Dr. Min Li, assistant professor of surgery, and research associate Dr. Uddalak Bharadwaj carried out the studies of the protein that is found on the tumor cells' surface.
"Mesothelin is found in other cancers for several years," said Yao, also a researcher in the Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center at BCM. "However, we didn't know the role it played in pancreatic cancer:" until she and her colleagues reported in this article. In fact, they found very high levels of mesothelin in 18 of 21 samples of patient's pancreatic tissues compared to amounts found in nearby normal tissues. In studies of this protein in the lab, pancreatic cancer cell lines that produced high levels of mesothelin grew faster and spread more than those in which mesothelin levels were lower.
Pancreatic cancer cells grew and spread faster in mice whose tumors expressed high levels of mesothelin than in those whose cancer did not, said the researchers, who conducted the studies in an immune deficient mouse.
"We saw this molecule as very significant in the life of the tumor cells," Yao said. "Our next step is to identify whether this would be a good active immunotherapy target."
Making a treatment vaccine of virus-like particles (VLPs) that contained mesothelin, researchers injected mice having pancreatic cancer with this vaccine three times. Virus-like particles have the unique property of inducing protective immune responses but they lack the infectious capacities of the original virus.
Tumor growth in the immunized mice slowed and in some cases the tumor disappeared. The average life span for the mice not treated was four weeks. The immunized mice survived five weeks longer than those not treated.
Researchers found that the immunization works by suppressing production of key immune system cells that suppress the body's ability to fight the tumor. The researchers said pancreatic cancers produce these cells, called T regulatory cells, as a protective measure.
"If we are able to see the same results in humans, this would allow us to incorporate a combination therapy to treat the tumor," Yao said. "Treatment with a single drug is not effective."
Yao and her colleagues are seeking U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to begin studies using their vaccination on people suffering from pancreatic cancer.
Baylor College of Medicine
Pancreatic cancer cells grew and spread faster in mice whose tumors expressed high levels of mesothelin than in those whose cancer did not, said the researchers, who conducted the studies in an immune deficient mouse.
"We saw this molecule as very significant in the life of the tumor cells," Yao said. "Our next step is to identify whether this would be a good active immunotherapy target."
Making a treatment vaccine of virus-like particles (VLPs) that contained mesothelin, researchers injected mice having pancreatic cancer with this vaccine three times. Virus-like particles have the unique property of inducing protective immune responses but they lack the infectious capacities of the original virus.
Tumor growth in the immunized mice slowed and in some cases the tumor disappeared. The average life span for the mice not treated was four weeks. The immunized mice survived five weeks longer than those not treated.
Researchers found that the immunization works by suppressing production of key immune system cells that suppress the body's ability to fight the tumor. The researchers said pancreatic cancers produce these cells, called T regulatory cells, as a protective measure.
"If we are able to see the same results in humans, this would allow us to incorporate a combination therapy to treat the tumor," Yao said. "Treatment with a single drug is not effective."
Yao and her colleagues are seeking U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to begin studies using their vaccination on people suffering from pancreatic cancer.
Baylor College of Medicine
Pancreatic Cancer Current Events and Pancreatic Cancer News RSSRare pancreatic cancer patients may live longer when treated with radiation therapy
Radiation therapy is effective in achieving local control and palliation in patients with pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNTs), despite such tumors being commonly considered resistant to radiation therapy.
African-Americans with colorectal cancer have poorer outcomes, lower survival rates
New research published in the November issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons shows that African-American patients with colorectal cancer are more likely to be diagnosed with advanced disease and are less likely to undergo surgical procedures compared with Caucasians, suggesting that improvements in screening and rates of operation may reduce differences in colorectal cancer outcomes for African-Americans.
Discovery offers potential new pancreatic cancer treatment
Tiny particles that can carry drugs and target cancer cells may offer treatment hope for those suffering with pancreatic cancer. New research to be presented in November at the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) Annual Meeting in Los Angeles reveals that tumor-penetrating microparticles (TPM) have been specifically designed to break through hard-to-infiltrate barriers and deliver drugs more effectively and efficiently than the standard form of chemotherapy such as those injected through a vein.
Hepatitis B does not increase risk for pancreatic cancer
A Henry Ford Hospital study found that hepatitis B does not increase the risk for pancreatic cancer - and that only age is a contributing factor.
M. D. Anderson examines use of toad venom in cancer treatment
Huachansu, a Chinese medicine that comes from the dried venom secreted by the skin glands of toads, has tolerable toxicity levels, even at doses eight times those normally administered, and may slow disease progression in some cancer patients, say researchers from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.
Pancreatic cancer: Researchers find drug that reverses resistance to chemotherapy
For the first time researchers have shown that by inhibiting the action of an enzyme called TAK-1, it is possible to make pancreatic cancer cells sensitive to chemotherapy, opening the way for the development of a new drug to treat the disease.
Endothelin-1 inhibitors in chronic pancreatitis
Fibrosis is a key feature of chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer. The extensive deposition of extracellular matrix proteins fosters the development of an exocrine and endocrine organ insufficiency, and accelerates progression of the tumour.
Autoimmune response can induce pancreatic tumor rejection
Immune responses are capable of killing tumors before they can be directed toward normal body tissue, according to new scientific findings published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
MicroRNAs circulating in blood show promise as biomarkers to detect pancreatic cancer
A blood test for small molecules abnormally expressed in pancreatic cancer may be a promising route to early detection of the disease.
Blood-flow metabolism mismatch predicts pancreatic tumor aggressiveness
Researchers from Turku, Finland, have identified a blood-flow glucose consumption mismatch that predicted pancreatic tumor aggressiveness, according to results of a study published in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
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