Cancer Treament Could Be 'More Effective' By Combining Immunotherapy And Radiotherapy | HuffPost Life

Could This Treat Cancer More Effectively?

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There are over 200 different types of cancer, making the disease a complex one to eradicate.

But now, new research may have found a way of destroying cancer cells more effectively.

Treating cancers with immunotherapy and radiotherapy at the same time could stop them becoming resistant to treatment, according to research published today.

Scientists found combining the two treatments helped the immune system hunt down and destroy cancer cells that were not killed by the initial radiotherapy in mice with breast, skin and bowel cancers, the study published in Cancer Research found.

Radiotherapy is a very successful treatment for many forms of cancer, but in cancer cells it does not kill it can switch on a "flag" on their surface, called PD-L1, that tricks the body's defences into thinking cancerous cells pose no threat.

The immunotherapy works by blocking these "flags" to reveal the true identity of cancer cells, allowing the immune system to see them for what they are and destroy them.

The approach improved survival and protected the mice against the disease returning.

Dr Simon Dovedi, the lead researcher based at the University of Manchester and member of the Manchester Cancer Research Centre, said: "Using the body's own defences to treat cancers has huge potential with early phase clinical trials demonstrating exciting patient benefit, but we are still at the early stages of understanding how best to use these types of treatments.

"Combining certain immunotherapies with radiotherapy could make them even more effective and we're now looking to test this in clinical trial to see just how much of a difference it could make."

The researchers were based at the university and funded by MedImmune, the global biologics research and development arm of AstraZeneca, and Cancer Research UK.

Professor Nic Jones, Cancer Research UK's chief clinician, said: "Around half of all cancer patients are given radiotherapy and it has been at the heart of helping improve survival rates so that today one in two cancer patients will survive for at least 10 years.

"Doctors and researchers are constantly looking for ways to improve treatments and this approach could open the door to a whole new way of giving radiotherapy."

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Dr Robert Wilkinson, director of oncology research at MedImmune, said: "MedImmune is committed to developing strong science-led collaborations, and supporting research that helps further advance our scientific understanding in the important area of immunotherapy.

"The findings described in the recent study with Cancer Research UK are extremely encouraging."

Cancer Research UK joined forces with The Christie NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Manchester to form the Manchester Cancer Research Centre, allowing doctors and scientists to work closely together.

Lifestyle Risk Factors For Cancer

Smoking(01 of11)

It's no surprise smoking is the number one thing to avoid in order to prevent cancer. It's responsible for 30 per cent of all cancer deaths, and smoking can increase the risk of lung cancer, for example, by nine times. (credit:Hemera Technologies via Getty Images)

Secondhand Smoke(02 of11)

Even if you don't smoke, you can be affected by those around you. People who are near smoking are 1.4 times more likely to get lung cancer than others. (credit:CMSP via Getty Images)

Excess Body Weight(03 of11)

Not having a healthy body weight (defined generally as a BMI of lower than 25) can increase your risk for a variety of cancers, including esophageal, uterine, liver, kidney, pancreatic, breast and colorectal cancer. (credit:bowie15 via Getty Images)

How You Eat(04 of11)

It's a big yes for veggies and fruit, as well as fibre, but red and processed meat is what you want to avoid. While eating lots of fibre, for example, can help reduce colorectal cancer risk, eating the meats can increase it. (credit:Maximilian Stock Ltd. via Getty Images)

Drinking(05 of11)

Drinking any type of alcohol — at all — increases your risk for head/neck, esophageal, colorectal, breast and liver cancer (and potentially pancreatic too). You can decrease the risk by keeping your alcohol use confined to one drink a day for women, and two for men. (credit:Roy Mehta via Getty Images)

Physical Activity(06 of11)

Getting at least 30 minutes of physical activity every day is what you should be aiming for. Otherwise, you're at risk for colorectal cancer and could be setting yourself up for lung, uterine and breast cancer. (credit:Brent Winebrenner via Getty Images)

How Much You Sit(07 of11)

We've heard about many ways in which sitting is bad for your health, but this could be the scariest one. Sitting too much (which is different from having physical activity) can increase your risk for colorectal, uterine, ovarian and prostate cancer. (credit:Science Photo Library via Getty Images)

UV Radiation(08 of11)

Any type of tanning increases your risk for skin cancer — up to 64 per cent more for squamous cell carcinoma. (credit:Bruce Yuanyue Bi via Getty Images)

Viruses(09 of11)

Hepatitis B and HPV both increase the risk for cancer, but there are vaccines that can help prevent them. (credit:Martin Botvidsson via Getty Images)

Radon(10 of11)

The presence of radon gas is associated with an increased risk for lung cancer — test your home to see if it's there. (credit:Zirafek via Getty Images)

Hormones(11 of11)

This one is a double-edged sword. For women taking HRT post-menopause, it can increase the risk of breast, uterine and ovarian cancer, but may help decrease the risk for colorectal cancer. Birth control pills, meanwhile, have been associated with an increased risk for breast, cervical and liver cancer, but a decreased risk for uterine and ovarian cancer. If you're concerned, talk to your doctor about options. (credit:Stephan Zabel via Getty Images)

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