Verified on 05/12/2022 by Guillaume Tabbara, Journalist
L’Inserm recently published a press release in which he explains that he has observed promising results in the treatment of childhood cancers.
The solution: immunotherapy
The solution would then be immunotherapy. For years, this technique has been used to fight cancer cells and its benefits are quite significant.
This treatment increases the life expectancy of patients, it is characterized by the control of the immune system which thus continues to be functional.
Unfortunately, immunotherapy is still quite ineffective for children.
Immunotherapy relies on tumor-specific gene mutations, which the immune system recognizes as not belonging to the body. In children, these mutations are few.
A discovery that puts immunotherapy back at the center of the debate
Scientists from theCurie Instituteof the’Inserm and you CNRS have just demonstrated a new transcription factor characteristic of Ewing’s sarcoma, the second most common malignant tumor in adolescents and children.
This discovery could therefore give rise to the idea of using immunotherapy to treat sarcomas, and more broadly pediatric tumours, explains Inserm in its report.
The scientists reveal that this new transcription factor, in particular specific to Ewing’s sarcoma, leads many genes that are not transcribed, because they are located in a so-called silent region of the genome, to express themselves.
“The existence of these particular genetic mutations is found in many pediatric cancers, thus raising the possibility of immunotherapies targeting these tumor-specific proteins. This discovery could prove revolutionary for the management of childhood tumours, which today constitute the 2nd cause of death in children under 15 years of age. »explains Dr. Olivier Delattre, Inserm Research Director at the head of the Cancer Unit.