GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan — Scientists at Van Andel Institute have made a breakthrough discovery in cancer treatment —specifically colorectal cancer.
In March, research found pairing two separate medications for treating cancer combats cancer cells better than either on its own. The drugs are DNMT and EZH2 inhibitors.
"I've been doing this for a long time," said Scott Rothbart, a professor in the department of epigenetics at Van Andel Institute. "This is really big for my lab. This is a major breakthrough."
Rothbart said the drugs work together to essentially trick the cancer cells into thinking it has a virus.
"We call this a viral mimicry effect," said Rothbart. "It tricks the immune system into recognizing that cancer cell is foreign and trying to get rid of it."
"What this means for a cancer cell is, say, a gene that normally would suppress cancer growth is turned off in that cancer cell," continued Rothbart. "And that's part of the mechanism by which that cancer cell evades the cues to stop growing."
The research is in an early stage. Van Andel Institute will now partner with clinical oncologists to develop clinical trials. Rothbart said they hope to enroll people in the near future.
Colorectal cancer is the second most common cause of cancer deaths in the united states. According to the American Cancer Society, this year alone more than 53,000 Americans are expected to die from it.
"This is something that we're very excited about testing in the clinical trial," said Rothbart. "Whether we see evidence of immune cell activation in people exposed to these drugs, and it also provides a potential opportunity to combine these epigenetic drugs with more standards of care in the space of immunotherapy."
The future trial is supported by the National Cancer Institute Specialized Programs of Research Excellence award and the Van Andel Institute Stand Up to Cancer Epigenetics Dream Team.
The study's authors include: Alison A. Chomiak, Ph.D., Rochelle L. Tiedemann, Ph.D., of VAI, Yanqing Liu, M.D., Ashley K. Wiseman, and M.S., Kate E. Thurlow, M.Sc. of VAI, Xiangqian Kong, Ph.D., Ying Cui, Ph.D., and Michael E. Topper, Ph.D., of Johns Hopkins University; and Evan M. Cornett, Ph.D., of Indiana University.
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