Key points from article :
Myeloid cells to precisely deliver an anticancer signal to organs where cancer may spread.
"Novel approach to immunotherapy...as a potential treatment for metastatic cancer," - Rosandra Kaplan, lead study author.
Preventing cancer from spreading in the first place.
Myeloid cells spur the immune system into action in the pre-metastatic niche.
In mice with rhabdomyosarcoma, genetically engineered myeloid cells (GEMys) produced IL-12 in the primary and in metastatic sites.
Mice treated with GEMys had less metastatic cancer in lungs, smaller tumors in the muscle, and lived substantially longer.
Similar results in mice with pancreatic tumors that spread to the liver.
In combination with chemotherapy, surgery, or T-cell transfer therapy, the effects of GEMy treatment improved.
Combination treatment leaves a long-lasting immune memory of the cancer.
Plans to test the safety of human GEMys in a clinical trial.
Research by National Cancer Institute published in the journal Cell.
