PHILADELPHIA -- U.S. scientists have created a method of expanding the number of immune system "natural killer" cells, increasing antibody effectiveness against cancer.
The researchers at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson University in Philadelphia found adding such cells to anti-cancer therapies involving monoclonal antibody drugs is more effective in killing cancer cells, and perhaps someday might improve treatments.
The scientists, led by Dr. Takami Sato, showed in laboratory studies that adding such NK cells to a monoclonal antibody, Herceptin, which targets the HER2/neu protein on breast cancer cells, was more efficient at killing the cancer cells. The HER2/neu protein is expressed in approximately one-quarter of all breast cancers.
"It doesn't mean that the antibody and the NK cells will cure the cancer," Sato said, "but it shows that using an antibody that recognizes the cancer cell, along with added NK cells, can be very effective against the tumor."
The research was presented Wednesday in Los Angeles during the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research.
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