Predicting side-effects and cancer's return in patients treated with immunotherapy by novel experimental test
Written By : Isra Zaman
Medically Reviewed By : Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli
Published On 2022-09-16 04:00 GMT | Update On 2022-09-16 04:00 GMT
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A single research test has the potential to predict which patients treated with immunotherapies –which harness the immune system to attack cancer cells – are likely to have their cancer recur or have severe side effects, a new study found. Published online in Clinical Cancer Research, the study revolved around the set of immune system signaling proteins called antibodies that recognize invading bacteria, viruses, and fungi. These blood proteins are designed to glom onto and inactivate specific bacterial and viral proteins, but in some cases "autoantibodies" also react to the body's "self" proteins to cause autoimmune disease.
The researchers obtained blood samples from more than 950 patients enrolled in one of two Phase 3 randomized controlled trials of adjuvant checkpoint inhibitors in patients with advanced melanoma. Tumors in these patients had been surgically removed and blood samples collected before they received any treatment. The new test employs a microchip with 20,000 proteins attached in specific spots. When an antibody recognizes any of the proteins present in a blood sample, those spots glow with the signal intensifying as the concentration of antibody increases.
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