Cancer Immunology at Boehringer Ingelheim
The search for new life-saving treatments for patients with cancer has never been more important – a goal that our scientists are deeply committed to. More than one in three of us is estimated to receive a cancer diagnosis at some point in our lifetimes1, and the number of new cases is expected to rise by about 70% over the next two decades2. Scientists at Boehringer Ingelheim are investigating an exciting new approach that explores ways to turn up the heat on cancer by firing up our immune systems. It’s our hope that their determination to push the boundaries of science will provide new treatment options to help the millions of patients who will face cancer in the future.
Turning up the heat on cancer
Boehringer Ingelheim’s cancer immunology strategy is to direct the immune system to recognize cancers which don’t respond to current immunotherapy treatments. These so-called ‘cold’ tumors are able to avoid immune detection because they have few tumor-specific mutations and no killer T cells in the tumor environment. Conversely, ‘hot’ tumors are those which are immunologically antigenic, have high numbers of T cells in the tumor microenvironment and so are more likely to respond to currently available forms of immunotherapy.
Scientifically, our ‘cold’ tumor innovation approach means addressing the ‘cold half’ of the cancer immunity cycle3, increasing the release and presentation of tumor antigens and the priming and activation of killer T cells. This process of T cell activation occurs predominantly in the lymph nodes which are immune tissues dedicated to generating new immune responses. Activated T cells can then traffic back to the tumor and attack and kill the cancer cells.
Dr. Jonathon Sedgwick, Vice President and Global Head, Cancer Immunology and Immune Modulation, believes the approach that BI scientists are taking represents an exciting new opportunity for patients.
References
1. https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/understanding/statistics (accessed 2017.08.10)
2. WHO Cancer Fact Sheet. February 2017 http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs297/en/ (accessed 2017.08.10)
3. Chen DS, Mellman I. Immunity. 2013 Jul 25;39(1):1-10