New research to improve treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia
The Faculty of Medicine is leading a new study to assess whether the lymph nodes can be targeted to improve the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL).
The Faculty of Medicine is leading a new study to assess whether the lymph nodes can be targeted to improve the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL).
Around 3,800 people each year in the UK are diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) – the most common type of leukaemia. Patients who develop resistance to current CLL treatments have a poor prognosis and there is an urgent need for more effective treatments for the disease.
Immunotherapy – stimulating the body’s own immune system to target cancer cells – has emerged recently as an effective new type of cancer treatment. Natural killer (NK) cells are a type of immune cell that are showing promise in clinical trials and importantly are not as toxic as other types of cancer treatment.
This new study, led by Dr Matthew Blunt and funded with a £250,000 grant from Leukaemia UK’s Follow-up Fund, will investigate how cancer cells within the lymph nodes become resistant to NK cell therapies, and crucially, how to overcome this. As one possible strategy to enhance NK cell therapy, the team will work in collaboration with Karyopharm Therapeutics, USA to test Selinexor – a drug treatment already approved for other types of blood cancer.
Dr Matthew Blunt said: “This project will allow for more effective immunotherapies to de developed that are capable of targeting malignant B cells within the protective environment of the lymph nodes. Using the immune system to fight cancer has the potential to eradicate cancer cells whilst sparing healthy cells, therefore offering a safer approach for patients.”
For further information read the following post at Leukaemia UK: