Cancer Immunology

Question 1

What is the mechanism for cancer immunotherapy?

Answer 1

Stimulate body’s own immune system to work strongly to attack cancer cells and then giving immune system components (recombinant immunological proteins)

Question 2

Birth of Coley’s Toxins

Answer 2

kill cancerous tumors by injecting pts with toxic bacteria (heat-killed bacteria- strep & serratia)

Question 3

What do immune checkpoint inhibitors do?

Answer 3

block a stranglehold that cancer cells can have on certain T cells, freeing T cells to attack cancer cells

Question 4

Checkpoint Inhibitor Drugs

Answer 4

‘checkpoint’ proteins block T-cell activity. Inhibitor drus can release breaks on T cells at different stages (2 check points)

Question 5

CTLA-4 Checkpoint

Answer 5

CTLA-4 checkpoint protein prevents dendritic cells from priming T cells to recognize tumors. (inhibitor drugs block checkpoint)

Question 6

PD-1 Checkpoint protein

Answer 6

prevents T cells from attacking cancer cells. (inhibitor drug allows T cells to act)

Question 7

Chimeric Antigen Receptor Therapy

Answer 7

CAR T; improve immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells
includes chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) is part T cell receptor and part antibody

Question 8

What are the parts of CAR T and what do they do?

Answer 8

T cell receptor guides T cell to specific target (cancer cells) and antibody part binds to target to alter immune system to respond and kill cancer cells

Question 9

How does T cell receptors mediate T cell activation?

Answer 9

replace TCR with CAR