NEW DELHI: A team of Australian researchers has developed a new targeted therapeutic approach that could improve treatment for myelofibrosis -- a rare and serious form of blood cancer.
Myelofibrosis disrupts the body’s ability to produce healthy blood cells, leading to fatigue, pain, enlarged spleen, and reduced quality of life.
Although current treatments can help relieve symptoms, there are no treatments to cure the disease.
Rather than just managing symptoms, the research, published in the journal Blood, focused on the abnormal blood cells that drive the disease using immunotherapy.
“People with myelofibrosis are often treated with therapies that help control symptoms, but they don’t selectively target the abnormal cells driving the disease,” said Prof Daniel Thomas, director of the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute’s (SAHMRI) Blood Cancer programme.
“Our research shows that by focusing on what makes these cells different, it may be possible to develop treatments that are both more effective and more targeted. This is part of a major paradigm shift in the treatment of myelofibrosis and related diseases,” Thomas added.
Using the patient cells, the team found two different targets that optimally remove the culprit cells.
The study highlights the potential of precision immunology, an approach that uses the immune system to recognise and act on disease-causing cells while leaving healthy cells largely unaffected.
The findings suggest that different biological forms of the disease may benefit from different targeted strategies.
“The future of cancer treatment lies in understanding disease at a molecular and immune level and then translating that knowledge into therapies that are, potent, long-lasting and precise,” Angel Lopez, Head of Human Immunology at SA Pathology,
While the findings are promising, further research and clinical development are needed before the approach can be tested in patients.