New Cancer Fighters Show Promise

Cancer researchers are making progress in efforts to stimulate the body’s immune response to tumors. Investigators reported to the American Society of Clinical Oncology that an experimental drug worked against melanoma, kidney and lung cancers. The drug, BMS-936558 belongs to a class of new anti-cancer compounds called anti-PD-1. That stands for Programmed Death, a receptor that acts as a shut off valve for immune system cells. Inhibiting PD-1 allows immune system cells to recognize and attack abnormal cells.
An editorial in The New England Journal of Medicine notes that the new compound produced durable anti-tumor activity greater than any seen during the last 30 years. There was especially good news for lung cancer patients, who have historically been resistant to immunotherapy. The same compound is also showing promise against kidney cancer. It is unusual for a highly respected and cautious journal like The New England Journal of Medicine to publish an editorial that concludes this kind of anti-cancer approach “may well have a major effect on cancer treatment.”
(New England Journal of Medicine, June 2, 2012)