identify a new immunotherapy that multiplies the immune response
Malignant melanoma is the most aggressive type of skin cancer that causes near A thousand deaths a year in Spain. The Spanish Society of Medical Oncology (SEOM) estimates that in 2025 they will be diagnosed around 9,400 new cases, being the most affected women.
The best strategy against melanoma remains its early diagnosis and surgical treatment. In cases where it is not possible to detect it in early stages, immunotherapy – technique that enhances the patient’s immune system so that he can identify and eliminate cancer cells alone – is the most effective option. Although very effective treatments have been developed in this line – with survival rates of 50% at 6 years, which with chemotherapy were unimaginable –Half of melanomas does not respond to immunotherapy.
In this sense, the advance that has achieved a research team of the Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology (INBIOMIC) of the University of León (ULE), which has discovered an innovative Immunotherapy strategy with remarkable capacity to activate the immune response and stop tumor growth In preclinical melanoma models.
It is a redesigned version of the “light” immunostimulating protein, called IG.Foldon-Mlight. “Light” is an immune system protein that acts on two key receptors: HVEM and LTR, responsible for activating lymphocytes and organizing immune structures. Until now, the soluble versions of this protein used in preclinical trials were ineffective, according to the researchers of the ULE to EP.
To overcome that limitation, scientists added a trimerizing domain (“foldon”), which allows “light” to adopt an active structure, similar to its natural form and thus achieve a greater therapeutic impact.
The new compound was tested in the Murino de Melanoma B16.F10 model, observing a significant delay in tumor growth, together with a strong infiltration of dendritic cells and cytotoxic T lymphocytes, responsible for destroying cancer cells. In addition, this effect was achieved no need for previous vaccination or immunization with irradiated tumor cells, which would simplify its clinical application.
The authors stressed that this strategy could be used as autonomous treatment and combined with immune control points inhibitors –A type of immunotherapy– for further enhance the response of the immune system, especially in “cold” tumors – tumors that do not trigger a strong immune response – that normally escape conventional immunotherapy.