Cancer needs to be eradicated from the roots, like a weed in your backyard. A new study developed designer DNA segments that eliminate cancer stem cells, with preliminary mice tests showing promising results in preventing cancer relapse.
What is Cancer?
According to the National Cancer Institute, Cancer refers to a collection of related diseases. All forms of cancer are due to cells in the body uncontrollably dividing and spreading to surrounding tissues.
Cancer can be inherited, develop within a person's lifetime, or be the product of DNA damage caused by environmental exposure.
Multiple myeloma is the focus of the recent study. It is a form of bone marrow cancer and can affect several areas in the body like the pelvis, ribs, spine, and skull. Unlike most forms of cancer, multiple myeloma doesn't cause lumps or tumors. Instead, it damages the bones and affects the body's production of healthy blood cells.
Cancer of blood plasma cells causes abnormal antibody is produced where the build-up leads to damage in the bones and kidneys, affecting a person's ability to combat infections.
Unfortunately, patients with multiple myeloma often relapse post-treatment, where cancer becomes resistant to earlier treatment.
In a report by the American Cancer Society, 34,920 new cases of multiple myeloma diagnosis are expected in 2021. This makes Multiple myeloma a relatively uncommon form of cancer.
Eradicating Multiple Myeloma Stem Cells
Previous studies link the overexpression of IRF4 proteins to lower multiple myeloma survival rates due to the expansion of myeloma stem cell proliferation. Hence, the new study published in Cells Stem Cell sets out to silence genes that encode the protein.
Researchers from Ionis Pharmaceuticals and the University of California San Diego developed an intense oligonucleotide. The engineered section of DNA is designed to bind to specific genes.
The ION251 oligonucleotide targets IRF4 genes that help eradicate malignant plasma cells and myeloma stem cells to prevent relapse in cancer patients.
To test their theory, researchers tested the engineered ION251 in mice with transplanted human myeloma cells. Each group of 10 mice was dosed with the experimental drug or a placebo every day, respectively.
After 2-6 weeks of therapy, results showed that mice on ION251 therapy had remarkably fewer myeloma cells than the placebo group. 70-100% of mice treated with the drug survived while other mice in control groups succumbed to cancer.
Leslie Crews, co-author from the Division of Regenerative Medicine, University of California, says, "The results of these pre-clinical studies were so striking that half the microscopy images we took to compare bone marrow samples between treated and untreated mice keep coming bank blank. In the treated mice, we couldn't find any myeloma cells post the study."
She adds, "It makes the science more difficult, but it gives me hope for patients."
According to the team, ION251 can be used along with traditional cancer therapies, making tumors more susceptible to the drug and hopefully preventing relapse.
Phase I clinical trials are underway to assess the efficacy and safety of ION251 on humans.
Also Read : Memory Cells and Antibodies May Provide Lasting Immunity From Covid-19 For Up to Decades
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