Researchers funded by Breast Cancer Now have developed a new type of antibody that stimulates the immune system to target cancer cells and slow tumour growth. The study reveals a promising new approach to tackling cancers that don’t respond to standard therapies.
In this section
A fresh approach
Immunotherapies are treatments that use the immune system to target and destroy cancer cells. They have been one of the most significant advances in cancer treatment and are currently an exciting and expanding area of breast cancer research.
Some breast and ovarian cancers have high levels of a molecule called HER2, which helps the cancer grow. These HER2-positive cancers are usually treated with an immunotherapy that involves an antibody called IgG, which can be designed to target HER2 directly. But for some patients, this treatment doesn’t work or stops working— and new options are urgently needed.
In this study, researchers at King’s College London explored an alternative type of antibody called IgE. IgE activates people’s immune system in different ways to IgG, by acting on a different set of immune cells.
Reprogramming the tumour environment
The team created IgE versions of existing HER2-targeting antibodies and tested them in the lab against HER2-positive breast and ovarian cancer cells that were resistant to standard treatments.
They found that IgE antibodies were able to activate immune cells to attack the cancer cells and significantly slowed the growth of tumours in mice. Further analysis revealed that the antibodies also reprogrammed the environment around the tumour — shifting it from one that suppresses immune responses to one that promotes them.
This finding is particularly important, as many cancers develop ways to ‘hide’ from the immune system. By switching the immune environment to be more active, IgE antibodies may help overcome one of cancer’s key defence mechanisms.
“This exciting research could lead to much-needed new treatments for people with HER2 positive breast cancer, whose cancers don’t respond to existing therapies. Now we know that the treatment works in principle in mice, researchers can continue to develop this immunotherapy to make it suitable for people, as well as to understand the full effect it could have and who it may benefit the most.”
Dr Kotryna Temcinaite
Head of research communications at Breast Cancer Now
What this means for people with breast cancer
This early-stage research shows that IgE antibodies could offer a new way to treat HER2-positive breast cancers that don’t respond to current therapies. With further development and investment, the researchers believe this treatment could even enter clinical trials within the next 3 to 5 years.
This study was published in Journal for Immunotherapy of Cancer and part- funded by Breast Cancer Now.
Be part of progress
It's thanks to your donations that we can make these discoveries. Help us unlock more breakthroughs in breast cancer research.