Numerous cancer treatments are notoriously harsh on the body; they assault healthy cells simultaneously with tumor cells and result in a wide range of side effects. The Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (PME) at the University of Chicago has now developed a strategy to prevent one potential cancer drug from causing such damage. Interleukin-12 has been modified by scientists into a new, "masked" form that is only activated when it comes into contact with a tumor. The study on the molecule, also known as IL-12, was published in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering. [1]

Figure 1. New “Masked” Cancer Drug Kills Cancer Cells with Minimal Side Effects

Figure 1 shows one such cytokine is interleukin-12, or IL-12. Though it was discovered more than 30 years ago, IL-12 still isn’t an FDA-approved therapy for cancer patients because of its severe side effects, such as liver damage. This is in part because IL-12 instructs immune cells to produce a large amount of inflammatory molecules that can damage the body.

Scientists have since been working to reengineer IL-12 to be more tolerable while retaining its powerful cancer-killing effects.

Masking the killer

To create a safer version of IL-12, my colleagues and I took advantage of one of the main differences between healthy and cancerous tissue: an excess of growth-promoting enzymes in cancers. Because cancer cells proliferate very rapidly, they overproduce certain enzymes that help them invade the nearby healthy tissue and metastasize to other parts of the body. [2]

When we applied these masked IL-12 molecules to both healthy and tumor tissue donated by melanoma and breast cancer patients, our results confirmed that only the tumor samples were able to remove the cap. This indicated that masked IL-12 could potentially drive a strong immune response against tumors without causing damage to healthy organs.

In breast cancer models, our masked IL-12 resulted in a 90% cure rate, while treatment with a commonly used immunotherapy called a checkpoint inhibitor resulted in only a 10% cure rate. In a model of colon cancer, masked IL-12 showed a 100% cure rate.

Our next step is to test the modified IL-12 in cancer patients. While it will take time to bring this encouraging development directly to patients, we believe a promising new treatment is on the horizon. [3]

References:

1. https://news.knowledia.com/ZA/en/articles/new-masked-cancer-drug-kills-cancer-cells-with-minimal-side-effects-aa48ac53ebeec161a4040ece7495686e54dad863
2. https://news.yahoo.com/masked-cancer-drug-stealthily-trains-121437574.html
3. https://theconversation.com/masked-cancer-drug-stealthily-trains-immune-system-to-kill-tumors-while-sparing-healthy-tissues-reducing-treatment-side-effects-183588

Cite this article:

Thanusri swetha J (2022), New “Masked” Cancer Drug Kills Cancer Cells with Minimal Side Effects, AnaTechMaz, pp.63