Good news for the fight against liver cancer! A researcher at the Center for Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) is working on editing T cells to determine and kill Glypican-3 (GPC3), which is considered as a biomarker of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which is a common form of liver cancer in young people.  Associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at CPRIT Navin Varadarajan’s goal is to make T cells, which are our immune system’s defenders against pathogens that may harm our bodies, more capable of suppressing a particular cellular molecule/protein that can lead the development of cancer. This aspired T cell-based Immunotherapy for Liver Cancer may save lives.

What is Immunotherapy?

Also referred to as biologic therapy, immunotherapy is a form of treatment for cancer that aims to strengthen the body’s inborn, natural defenses against cancer. 

Other than a combination of aggressive chemotherapy with either liver transplantation or evasive surgical removal of hepatocellular tumors, effective treatments are yet to be found. Unwanted side effects of dose-intensive chemotherapy include hearing impairment, possible long-term pulmonary damage, speech and cognitive delay, and decreased blood cell count.

T cell modification for liver cancer treatment

T cells, which are also called as T lymphocytes, are a subtype of white blood cells produced in the thymus.  The “T” in T cell stands for thymus; these subtypes are essential for human body’s immunity and are responsible for a person’s immune response to specific pathogens. If we have lowered count of T cells, like what happens to people infected with HIV/AIDs, we become sick more easily due to increased susceptibility to infections.

Varadarajan and his team are looking at how T cells work and are trying to identify what properties of T cells are essential in fighting cancer cells, particularly in targeting GPC3, which is a protein in human cells and that are particularly overexpressed in HCC. The approach is actually easy to understand:  make the T cell strong enough to kill GPC3 to prevent or stop the development of liver cancer.

Varadarajan and his team are not the first researchers to explore immunotherapy for liver cancer treatment. Below are some other studies:

• Novel Antibody Targets Glypican-3 in Liver Cancer
• Biology and function of glypican-3 as a candidate for early cancerous transformation of hepatocytes in hepatocellular carcinoma
• Glypican-3: A promising biomarker for hepatocellular carcinoma diagnosis and treatment
• Glypican-3 Targeting of Liver Cancer Cells Using Multifunctional Nanoparticles

What do these research findings and breakthroughs tell us? We are not far from technologies that would help us win the fight against liver cancer. Yes, we can have hope.