By Admin at 13 Jul 2016, 13:47 PM

Ovarian cancer is one of the top five deadliest cancers among U.S. women, with an average 5-year survival rate of just over 45 percent. Part of what makes ovarian cancer so deadly is that it often develops resistance to chemotherapy drugs.

Typically, ovarian cancer is treated with the platinum-based drug cisplatin. The way cisplatin works is by causing platinum to build up in cancerous cells, which prevents them from dividing into other cancerous cells. A cell that isn’t able to divide will die. However, ovarian cancer can build up a high resistance to cisplatin, making the likelihood of successful treatment decrease.

A new study conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan showed that incorporating immunotherapy into the treatment might combat chemotherapy resistance and improve survival rates in this disease.

Immunotherapy is a course of treatment in which part of your immune system is used to fight cancer cells. This can be accomplished in two different ways: by trying to stimulate your immune system into working harder to fight cancer cells or by giving your immune system man-made proteins. The result can lead to a general boost in your immune system or your immune system may learn to specifically target cancer cells.

This study revealed that fibroblasts — cells that produce connective tissue — prevent platinum build-up in cancer cells, leading to cisplatin resistance. When researchers added immune T cells to the fibroblasts, however, the cancerous cells began to die.

Specifically, glutathione and cysteine released by fibroblasts contribute to drug resistance. T cells, which are your immune system’s workhorses, alter fibroblasts’ metabolism of these two compounds and thereby “abolish the resistance,” according to the study.

Further, a patient’s outcome was heavily dependent on the presence of fibroblasts and T cells. The more fibroblasts found, the lower the patient’s survival rate, while T cells were linked to increased survival.

The findings could significantly change the way hard-to-treat cancers such as ovarian cancer are treated. T cells could be used in the future to combat fibroblasts and the resistance they build to drugs like cisplatin. Using T cells could potentially reverse the resistance, allowing patients to continue with their initial chemotherapy treatment successfully.

According to the American Cancer Society, a woman’s lifetime risk of developing ovarian cancer is about 1 in 75, and her risk of dying from the disease is about 1 in 100. New advances in cancer treatment, including immunotherapy, might one day lower this number significantly. The researchers noted:

“Capitalizing upon the interplay between chemotherapy and immunotherapy holds high potential for cancer treatment.”

Sources:
Cell May 19, 2016
T Cell Modulation Group June 2, 2016
American Cancer Society June 2, 2016
ChemoCare June 2, 2016
Medical News Today June 2, 2016
Medical News Today May 23, 2016

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