Breakthrough may lead to new cancer treatment being tailored to patient’s age

A DISCOVERY by Melbourne scientists may pave the way for a new form of cancer treatment to one day be tailored to a patient’s age, improving its effectiveness in older people.

A DISCOVERY by Melbourne scientists may pave the way for a new form of cancer treatment to one day be tailored to a patient’s age, improving its effectiveness in older people.

The therapy — in which ­patients’ own cells are genetically modified to boost their cancer-killing capability — is having remarkable results in young cancer patients, but its success is limited in the elderly.

More than 60 per cent of new cancer cases in Australia occur in people aged over 60, and there is a desperate need for better ways to treat older patients.

RESEARCHERS DISCOVER HOW CANCER-FIGHTING GENE WORKS

WHY EXERCISE IS A MUST FOR CANCER PATIENTS

TRIALS BEGIN ON NEW TRIAL FOR OVARIAN CANCER

The new findings by ­Monash University’s Biomedical Discovery Institute shed light on why people lose their ability to fight infections as they age.

Professor Nicole La Gruta and Dr Kylie Quinn’s ­research finds that as we age some of our killer T cells, which are expert cancer killers, reduce dramatically in number and others become dysfunctional.

More than 60 per cent of new cancer cases in Australia occur in people aged over 60, and there is a desperate need for better ways to treat older patients.

“We think dysfunction in one population of killer T cells and the reduction in number of healthy T cells contributes to the rising rates of infection and cancer in old age,” Prof La Gruta said.

CAR T cell therapy is one of the most exciting cancer treatments emerging, Dr Quinn said.

“It involves taking killer T cells from a cancer patient, ­genetically modifying them, building them up into large numbers and putting them back in the patient,” she said.

“It has led to some really remarkable results in some cancers, but unfortunately it is not as effective in older patients.”

Their studies in mice and humans are helping to explain why this occurs and may eventually allow treatment to be tailored to a person’s age.

The ­research finds that as we age some of our killer T cells, which are expert cancer killers, reduce dramatically in number and others become dysfunctional.

This could involve targeting the killer T cells that are healthy, but only exist in a smaller number, as well as ­removing the cells that have ­become dysfunctional.

Or, using drugs to dampen inflammation, which is what leads to the decline in these vital immune cells.

“We think we should be moving in a direction where we specifically tailor these therapies to the age of the ­patient,” Prof La Gruta said.

“This is where medicine must head to meet the needs of our ageing society.”

Key findings from the research, which is ongoing, are published today in the journal Cell Reports.

[e-mail]

@Lucie_VDB