Immunotherapy

Question 1

monoclonal antibodies

Answer 1

lab-produced antibodies that can recognise and bind to certain proteins, including those on surface of cancer cells

Question 2

3 ways monoclonal antibodies can diagnose and treat cancers

Answer 2

1. diagnostic tools by detecting the presence of specific proteins/biomarkers linked to cancer, e.g. prostate-specific antigen (prostate cancer)
2. targeted therapy to treat cancers by explicitly recognising and binding to cancer cells and triggering destruction e.g binding to HER2 protein on the surface of breast cancer cells to treat her2-positive breast cancer
3. used as immunotherapies to enhance IS ability to recognise and attack cancer e.g. block immune checkpoint molecules so can activate t cells and enhance IR
4. used with radioactive isotopes to deliver radiation to cancer cells
5. label with radioactive isotopes to image and visualises cancer cells to monitor response to therapy

Question 3

3 ways t-cell responses can be harnessed to fight cancer

Answer 3

1. chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) t-cell therapy - engineering patient T cells to express CAR that recognises and binds to a protein found on cancer cells to attack them
2. immune checkpoint inhibitors - t cells can be activated to block immune checkpoint molecules that inhibit IR so cancer cells can be attacked
3. adoptive cell transfer (ACT) - t cells isolated from blood/tumour and then grown and activated in the lab before being infused back into the patient (treatment of melanoma)
4. tumour-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy - isolating t cells from tumours and growing in the lab. then infusing back into the patient (melanoma treatment)
5. cancer vaccines - stimulate IS to recognise and attack by presenting specific cancer antigens to T cells.