‘Evolutionary arms race’ for cancers
HEALTH: Highly mutated cancers are in an “evolutionary arms race” with the immune system, research suggests. Gullet and stomach cancers build up genetic mutations which make them resistant to treatments.
AGGRESSIVE AND highly mutated cancers are engaged in an “evolutionary arms race” with the immune system, new research suggests.
Gullet and stomach cancers, with faults in their systems for repairing DNA, build up huge numbers of genetic mutations which make them resistant to treatments like chemotherapy.
But these numerous mutations mean they appear foreign to the immune system, leaving them vulnerable to attack and susceptible to new immunotherapies.
Scientists at the Institute of Cancer Research, London (ICR), found that these “hyper-mutant” tumours rapidly evolve strategies to disguise themselves from the immune system and evade attack.
They hope that in the future, the findings could help optimise treatment with immunotherapy, and other drugs such as chemotherapy.
The study, published in Nature Communications, was funded by Cancer Research UK and the Schottlander Research Charitable Trust.
Dr Marco Gerlinger, of the ICR, said: “Our new study has shown that in highly mutated tumours, cancer and the immune system are engaged in an evolutionary arms race in which they continually find new ways to outflank one another. Watching hyper-mutated tumours and immune cells coevolve in such detail has shown that the immune system can keep up with changes in cancer, where current cancer therapies
can become resistant – and that we could use immunotherapies to shift the balance of this arms race, extending patients’ lives.”
Professor Paul Workman, chief executive of the ICR, said: “Cancer evolution is the biggest challenge in cancer research and treatment today – and deepening our understanding of how tumours evolve in response to treatment is absolutely key to finding ways of overcoming drug resistance.”
He said without treatment, “cancers will be destined to win this evolutionary arms race”, but we can tip the balance in favour of the immune system through immunotherapy.”