For over 30 years, researchers have explored T-cell engineering as a potential cure for cancer. Their advances have changed the course of treatment for many types of blood cancers, including lymphoma, certain types of leukemia, and multiple myeloma.
Upon seeing the power of CAR-T therapy treatments, researchers have collectively set out to push the science to the next level. Their newfound efforts focus on using CAR-T therapy to target cancerous tumors and recurrent variants.
Although that’s quite a tall order, their recent research reveals a way to make the CAR-T cells even more effective: interleukin 7 (IL-7). Here’s how it works.
Interleukin Treatment Improved Cancer Fighting Power
Interleukin 7 is an immunity-boosting protein naturally found in the intestinal epithelial. This protein assists in the T-cell’s early development, helping them grow at their best. The body regularly produces IL-7 protein to help speed up t-cell production as needed to fight infections and other illnesses.
Knowing that, researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis set out to use this protein to boost the growth of modified T-cells. Their approach is simple, too. After growing the genetically engineered T-cells in the lab, they return them to the patient. Then, they complete the IL-7 treatment to encourage the T-cells to grow faster and become more effective at killing cancer cells.
Although the research team only tested their approach in mouse trials to date, their findings show great promise for human patients. The mice given the IL-7-boosted CAR-T treatment grew 10,000 times more t-cells than the control group. The CAR-T cells also stuck around much longer than normal and seemed to target and kill cancer cells in tumors better than ever before.
Upon making that discovery, the researchers published their full findings in the Nature Communications journal in June, 2022, pointing toward the potential for success in upcoming phase 1 clinical trials.
Clinical Trials in the Works to Secure Treatment Approval
Both the Washington University School of Medicine and Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital plan to follow up with phase 1 clinical trials soon. These trials will go beyond the initial mouse study to investigate the power of a long-acting, genetically-modified version of the IL-7 protein.
The researchers plan to pair a modified IL-7 protein with CD19-targeting CAR-T cells to see if the combination improves treatment effectiveness in patients whose cancer has returned. At this stage, they’ll only focus on relapsed or refractory diffuse large B cell lymphoma.
Modifying the IL-7 protein could turn out to be a gamechanger, too. The modifications keep the protein circulating through the body far longer than it would otherwise. In fact, the most recent modifications keep it circulating for weeks. All throughout that time, the protein supports the CAR-T cell expansion, keeping them from exhausting their resources before the CAR-T therapy can fully work.
New Strategies Prevent CAR-T Cells from Exhausting Their Efforts
Through just the mice trials alone, it’s clear that the modified IL-7 supported CAR-T cells have the ability to boost cancer survival by leaps and bounds. In their study, one group of mice received the joint therapy while the other received CAR-T cells alone.
As a result, the mice given the IL-7 CAR-T therapy lived six times longer than the other group. And by the end of the 175 experiment period, these mice were still surviving. Their tumors had shrunk to near undetectable sizes by day 35, too. Their CAR-T therapy control group counterparts, on the other hand, died about one month after starting their treatment.
With its ability to control the disease for so much longer, the new CAR-T therapy approach gives hope to researchers ready to move onto the phase 1 clinical trials. Their early findings could also build interest in the approach over time.
Although only four sites are participating in the early trials, their findings could encourage others to join in on the research. If it’s successful, researchers hope to expand its reach by using the newfound CAR-T therapy approach to treat many other conditions, like glioblastoma and sepsis.