7 million people die of cancer every year worldwide. The immune system in the body struggles in its attempt to contain cancer; unfortunately, it fights a losing battle. Tumors originate from healthy cells that lose control of their growth abilities, making them unrecognized as foreign by our bodies. This proves that our immune systems can’t compete against rapidly-spreading cancers.
The Origins of Immunotherapy: From Smallpox to Cancer Treatment
Immunotherapy has been around since 1796 after Edward Jenner, an English physician and scientist, produced the 1st vaccine to prevent smallpox. In 1900, Paul Ehrlich, a German physician and scientist [later becoming a Nobel laureate], developed a scientific concept that he termed the “magic bullet”: that it could be possible to destroy the infectious agents that cause disease without inflicting harm upon the body. The 1st “magic bullet” was discovered in 1909 for the treatment of syphilis. The application of chemotherapy in treating cancer has a direct link to Jenner’s “magic bullet”.
The Evolution of Immunotherapy for Cancer
Dr. Steven Rosenberg, the head of tumor immunology at the National Cancer Institute, developed immunotherapy for treating cancer during the late 1980s. This pioneer and his colleagues used specific killer immune cells, known as T-cells, to put the brakes on tumor growth. It’s success rate was only 15 – 20%. Most cancer patients still required treatment with chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery.
In 1996, James Allison, an immunologist at the University of California, Berkeley, discovered how to employ killer T-cells to successfully attack cancerous tissue by blocking a protein receptor on the T-cell called CTLA-4. This receptor functions as an immune checkpoint, inhibiting the immune response. He worked with antibodies to shut down this T-cell inhibitory molecule leading to enhanced immune activity in curtailing cancer. Allison’s work led to the development of medications that became known as “checkpoint inhibitors”: drugs that allow killer T-cells to attack the newly-exposed cancer cells while sparing normal cells.
Several “checkpoint inhibitor” drugs have been approved by the FDA. These have shown to be successful in the treatment of skin melanoma and cancers of the lungs and kidneys. Researchers are developing more than 1,500 immunotherapy medications for treating cancer, making it the second-largest field in drug development after cholesterol drugs like statins. In 10 years, it is predicted that immunotherapy will be the most valuable class of medications in history.
The Future of Immunotherapy: Personalized Cancer Treatment
In fighting cancer, immunotherapy needs to be adapted to each person’s genetic characteristics attributed to the abnormal tissue. Thus, it requires the latest medications to be highly-personalized. Genome sequencing, i.e., determining the series of DNA present in the mitochondria of human cells, is an integral part of President Obama’s administration $1 billion “moon-shot” effort to cure cancer.
In April 2016, Napster co-founder Sean Parker has earmarked $250 million to hasten the development of immunotherapies. In the U.S., this involves the collaborative efforts of more than 40 research laboratories and 6 of the top cancer research centers. The Parker Institute for Cancer will promote the sharing of research outcomes and clinical trial coordination. It will also form common tissue banks and establish contracts with pharmaceutical companies. These efforts aim to bring cancer biogenetics to the public.
Immunotherapies involved in biogenetic tissue healing will reduce the need for chemotherapy’s toxic effects. They will also save people from years of follow-up surgeries. It is already saving lives in clinical trials. The results have been profound. Early trials involved patients with unresponsive B-cell leukemias and lymphomas. Up to 80% achieved complete remission. Currently, there are over 3,400 immunotherapy trials in the U.S. and many more throughout the world. On average, 30% of people taking immunotherapy in pill form or intravenously are in remission.