Helping the Immune System to Take Cancer On

In the latest episode of the Taking Cancer On podcast, host Sebastian Hermelin, COO and Co-Founder of War On Cancer, invited experts Jose Barrueco Ph.D. and Petra Blum Ph.D., M.D., to discuss how the immune system can be used to help treat cancer.

What does it take to develop cancer immunotherapies, what is Boehringer Ingelheim contributing to this field, and what does the future hold to combat cancer?

You can listen to the full episode here.

“A very finely tuned army”

‘Immunology’, ‘immunotherapy’, ‘immuno-oncology’ – Sebastian opens the episode with these often-used terms, asking the experts for clarification on what they really mean. Petra explains the science of how the body’s immune system works, and how cancer immunology is the study of how the immune system recognizes and fights cancer cells.

Jose describes the immune system as being “a very finely tuned army” that plays a strong role in the surveillance of foreign or mutated cells, including cancer, and the subsequent removal of them. In his words: “The therapies that we’re using are trying to either unmask the cancer or stimulate the immune system to recognize cancer, so that it can attack it in a way that is beneficial for the patient.”

Turning ‘cold’ tumors ‘hot’ – “the major challenge we are facing now”

This episode dives further into how Boehringer Ingelheim is contributing to the cancer immunotherapy field and outlines the company’s main focus areas in this space: T-cell engagers, cancer vaccines, oncolytic viruses, and immune and stromal modulating agents.

Developing novel treatment combinations is one element of the company’s approach, along with researching how different modalities can either stimulate the immune system or reduce the immune suppression happening at the cancer cell level. The aim of this is to turn ‘cold’ tumors into responsive ‘hot’ tumors, which Jose described as being: “probably the major challenge we are facing now.”

Put simply, ‘cold’ tumors are unresponsive to immunotherapies and this can be caused by many different mechanisms, such as tumors masking themselves so that the immune system recognizes them as ‘normal’ tissue. Jose and his team are “trying to remove that mask or these inhibitory processes and mechanisms that the tumor has put in place, so that the immune system can recognize it and attack it.”

“I am very confident that we will see novel drugs”

The conversation turns towards the future of cancer immunotherapy and the guests offer their thoughts on the potential that oncolytic viruses have to offer. Petra notes: “The virus platform is a very appealing principle to direct the immune response right to the tumor and preserve healthy cells from virus-related side effects.”

Boehringer Ingelheim is exploring new opportunities and novel treatment combinations as part of its continued “quest to conquer cancer”, building upon the cancer immunology knowledge that the company has developed to date. Jose reflects: “I hope to fine tune and improve upon existing therapies, but also identify new targets and new mechanisms that we can use to develop new treatments.”

The discussion closes with a look to the future: “I am very confident that we will see novel drugs with very different modes of action that can direct the immune system towards the tumor in the upcoming years.” The guests’ experience, expertise and optimism surrounding this cancer research and treatment approach is clear throughout their conversation, and listeners will be able to hear their views on more cancer immunology-related topics throughout the episode.

You can listen to the full podcast episode via major podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe to the podcast to listen to more episodes focusing on the many captivating elements of cancer research and drug development.