Israeli lab takes major step towards skin cancer vaccine
RESEARCHERS AT Tel Aviv University have taken significant strides towards developing a vaccine against skin cancer.
They have also shown that nanovaccines — the type they are investigating — could be effective for other types of cancer.
The researchers created the nanovaccines out of biodegradable polymer, which they “packed” with peptides — short chains of amino acids — that can be found in melanoma cells.
They then injected the nano-vaccines into mice with melanoma skin cancer.
“The nanoparticles acted just like known vaccines for viral-borne diseases,” said lead researcher Professor Ronit Satchi-Fainaro.
“They stimulated the immune system of the mice and the immune cells learned to identify and attack cells containing the two peptides — that is, the melanoma cells.
“This meant that, from now on, the immune system of the immunized mice will attack melanoma cells if and when they appear in the body.
“The result was that the mice did not get sick, meaning that the vaccine prevented the disease.”
Yael Gruper of Israel’s Davidson Center for Science Education explained that the research uniquely combined three strategies, “Immunotherapy, treating the area around the growth and the nano-vaccine itself. “Most of us are familiar with vaccines only as a way of preventing infectious diseases like flu but their use as a treatment for cancer has been gaining ground in recent years. The principle behind this treatment is injecting a small protein that can identify the cancerous cells along with a substance that activates the immune system.”
The research team and Tel Aviv University — which carried out its research in collaboration with the University of Lisbon in Portugal — are now setting up a drug development start-up to take their concept to the next stage.
While the results in mice were very positive and initial testing on human tissue has also been encouraging, the Tel Aviv team must now embark on human trials, which will likely take 10-15 years before any potential treatment could be on the market.
The nanoparticles acted just like vaccines for viral diseases’