During chemotherapy, some cancer cells may go into a "hibernation state," allowing tumors to grow again.
However, researchers from the University Hospital Cologne in Germany have found a treatment that targets these particular cells.
Studies - conducted in recent years - have shown that many patients develop self-resistance to the drugs during treatment, and this allows tumors to start growing again, according to a report published by Deutsche Welle.
For years, researchers at the University Hospital Cologne in Germany have been conducting studies and research on how to make cancer treatment more targeted on tumors using other drugs.
In a recent study, the results of which were published on September 17 on the website of the University of Cologne, researchers found that one of the reasons for the sudden reappearance of cancer in some patients is that some cancer cells do not die completely, but rather enter a so-called “hibernation state.” ".
"We were able to prove that instead of dying, cancer cells after treatment can also go into a state of hibernation. Some cancer cells can survive treatment in this case, which subsequently leads to a relapse in the patient," explains the German doctor who led the study, Johannes Bregelmann.
Preventing the development of new tumors
Although this does not seem positive, it provided a new starting point that helped researchers develop more effective treatments to eliminate cancer cells that go into a "hibernation state" and prevent them from developing into tumors again.
The researchers - from the University Hospital Cologne - found that it is possible to develop a treatment that targets cancer cells that enter a "hibernation state", by activating the innate immune system of the cells, and then the immune system in patients' bodies can interact better with cancer cells and effectively resist them.
However, this alone is not enough to trigger such a strong immune response in the body that all active and inactive cancer cells are eliminated, explains Karina Lorentz, the study co-author.
But it looks different when targeted cancer drugs are combined with so-called "membrane and cellular receptor innate immunity" (RIG-I), which can specifically target and kill cancer cells that enter a "hibernation state", researchers in Cologne have discovered.
New attack points
"In short, instead of dying, cancer cells can also go into hibernation with targeted cancer therapies, which allow them to survive after treatment, but create new attack points," explains University Professor Martin Seuss, co-author of the study.
“By molecular analysis of this case, we have developed a novel treatment approach in which we combine targeted cancer drugs with appropriate immunotherapy, thus improving therapeutic response. Future clinical studies will have to clarify to what extent these new combination therapies can improve patients’ survival prospects.” Alive".