A powermunotherapy power in lung cancer

A study headed by the Research Institute of BARCELONA MARTING HOSPITAL He has shown that inhibiting the Met enhances the effect of combined treatment of chemotherapy and immunotherapy in small cell lung cancer, the most aggressive, in mouse models.

The work, published in the magazine ‘Cell Reports Medicine‘, shows the importance of HGF or growth factor of hepatocytes, linked to multiplication and cell survival in the poor prognosis of the disease and resistance to treatments, reports the Hospital del Mar in a statement on Tuesday.

The study, which culminates 10 years of research, has analyzed a new approach that includes adding a MET inhibitor to the standard approach, and demonstrates the improvement of the response to treatment.

15% survival

Despite representing 15% of all lung tumors, three -year survival of small cell lung cancer is only 15% with a “very fast” progression and a late diagnosis that does not allow surgical treatment.

The current treatment consists of the combination of chemotherapy and immunotherapybut this type of cancer shows a great capacity to generate resistance and generate metastasis; Now, the work of the Research Institute of the Hospital del Mar opens “a new way to address it.”

The main author of the work, head of the lung cancer section of the Medical Oncology Service of the Hospital del Mar and researcher of the Molecular Therapy group of Cancer, Edurne Arriola, explained that when combining chemo and immunotherapy with the MET inhibitor, it is able to make immunotherapy “function better” increasing survival and tumor response in mouse models.

4 groups

The work has analyzed the response to several combinations of treatments in mouse models: the control group, without treatment; a second with chemotherapy; another that received chemotherapy and immunotherapy, and one that received chemotherapy, immunotherapy and a MET inhibitor.

The best results, both in tumor and survival progression, were observed in those to which the MET inhibitor was added; In fact, 6 of the 9 tumors treated in this way came to show a complete response.

Tumor microenvironment

Researchers attribute the positive and prolonged response in time to the inhibitor’s ability to eliminate the effect of the MET gene on the tumor microenvironment.

“When MET is inhibited, the tumor microenvironment, which contributes to resistance to treatment, changes, and this facilitates the activity of the immune system T cells, which are activated by immunotherapy,” says Arriola.

Researchers have validated the results obtained through samples of Human tumors, And they have been able to verify how those in which the MET gene is overexpressed have a worse prognosis, with a tumor microenvironment that hinders the effect of immunotherapy or immunotherapy treatment and develop “greater resistance.”

Now, the next step is to initiate a trial in patients with small cell lung cancer: the intention is to check whether to add the MET inhibitor once the treatment with chemotherapy and immunotherapy has been completed and it is passed to the maintenance treatment with only immunotherapy is useful to avoid the progression of the tumor.