New discovery enhances the body’s ability to fight cancer

Scientists at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, found that tumor treating fields (TTFs) in the lab, which simulate the exposure of brain tumors to electrical currents through a simple cap worn by patients, elicited a more lethal response from natural killer cells.

The team hopes the promising results will open the door to new combination therapies for patients with certain brain tumors, such as glioblastoma, a common, aggressive brain cancer that is difficult to diagnose.

“Immunotherapies have improved outcomes for a wide range of cancers and offer great potential for treating difficult-to-treat cancers,” said Professor Claire Gardiner, from the Trinity Institute of Biomedical Sciences. “However, a combination of treatment approaches is likely to be needed ultimately to achieve maximum impact on patient outcomes.”

The research team found that exposure to TTFs did not affect the viability of NK cells or the production of cytokines (key immune molecules produced by NK cells).

However, exposure to TTFs increased the activity and lysis of natural killer cells (a cellular process in which toxic antimicrobial or other molecules are released), a sign of increased lethality.

“More work is needed, but the data suggest that treatment with a combination of TTFs and NK cells could be beneficial, and offers future potential for a new dual therapy for patients with glioblastoma,” Gardiner explained.

The study was published in the journal Cell Reports Physical Science.

Source: Medical Express