Treating colorectal cancer with lymphocytes is alternative to
chemotherapy
13 May 2007 Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have
discovered a new method of treating advanced colorectal cancer without the
need for chemotherapy. By removing special lymphocytes (white blood cells),
cultivating them and returning them to the patient s body, scientists can
strengthen the patient's immune defence and stop the spread of the tumour.
Kjell Dahl, a specialist physician at Stockholm South General Hospital, has
written his thesis on immunotherapy as an alternative to chemotherapy (cytotoxins
and cytostatics) for the treatment of advanced colorectal cancer. The method
has no adverse effects and may save and prolong the lives of seriously ill
patients. Cancer tumours in the large bowel spread into the body through
the lymphatic system, passing into the lymph nodes via the lymphatic
vessels. The first lymph node passed is commonly called the sentinel node,
from where the lymph spreads in different directions around the body. The
sentinel node is therefore a good indicator of whether or not the cancer has
spread. The lymph nodes contain lymphocytes, which form part of the body's
immune defence. Different lymphocytes react with and kill different
intruders that invade the body. The scientists have managed to identify
the sentinel nodes during surgery and have found the lymphocytes that attack
cancer tumours in the large bowel. They have also succeeded in isolating the
lymphocytes and cultivating them in vitro, and then returning them to
patients via blood transfusions. This procedure, which strengthens their
immune defence, is called immunotherapy and has no adverse effects since it
uses the body's own material. "Patients treated with this method fared
better than those treated in the conventional way," says Dr Dahl. "In some
patients, the tumour was completely eradicated. The average lifespan of
patients with serious forms of advanced colorectal cancer was prolonged from
less than a year to, on average, just over two and a half years." The
scientists have also discovered that it is possible to identify the first
draining lymph node of the daughter tumours of a tumour (metastases), and
that these nodes also contain tumour-reactive lymphocytes. These nodes are
called metinel nodes and they too can be isolated and cultivated in vitro
before being returned into the patient's body. Dr Dahl stresses that the
study has its limitations, but also that the indications are good. A more
broad-based trial is now being planned in a multi-centre study to be run by
SentoClone, a company specialising in immunotherapy. Further information:
Karolinska Institutet
In Swedish:
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