Researchers say a temporary boost to a protein called p53 may help immune cells keep fighting cancer for longer. In laboratory tests, specially prepared T cells treated with the approach were better at killing melanoma cells.
The study, from UCLA Health’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and published in Frontiers in Immunology, looked at T cells—immune cells that help the body fight disease. Some cancer treatments modify a patient’s T cells in a lab so they can recognize tumors, then return the cells to the body. Over time, though, T cells can become “exhausted” and less effective.
To try to prevent that, the researchers treated human T cells with navtemadlin, an experimental drug that temporarily increases p53 activity. The treated cells showed fewer signs of exhaustion and had more energy. In lab tests, they also killed melanoma cells more effectively than untreated T cells.
Kien Vuu, a Los Angeles physician and former UCLA assistant clinical professor who was not involved in the study, said T-cell exhaustion is a major challenge for these treatments. After repeated encounters with cancer, he explained, T cells can lose their ability to multiply and attack.
Vuu said the method’s appeal is that it could strengthen existing treatments without adding another genetic modification. Instead, the drug would be used while a patient’s T cells are being prepared in the lab.
Still, the findings are preliminary. The experiments used human cells in a dish, not animals or patients. Further research would need to test the approach in animals and against other cancers before clinical trials could begin.
Researchers also found that the drug’s dose matters. Higher doses led to more T-cell deaths, while lower doses produced the desired effects without substantially reducing the number of healthy cells. Vuu said finding the right balance will be important.
If future studies support the results, the approach might help T cells stay effective longer, including against solid tumors. But it is too early to know whether it will work in people, and it is not likely to reach clinics soon.
