This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

One person dies every 50 seconds in the U.S. from cancer, and an estimated 39% of people in the country will develop cancer during their lifetime. Survival rates have improved in recent decades from innovations and combinations of treatments, including surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, immunotherapy and biotechnology. Still, some cancers resist treatment or recur.

BYU preclinical research shows a new immunotechnology called MOTO-CAR that genetically engineers macrophages—immune cells that can enter solid tumors—to recognize cancer-associated markers, attack the tumor cells and activate other immune cells with a memory to fight the cancer. Researchers hope it will eventually lead to treatments for difficult-to-cure cancers, including glioblastoma, triple-negative breast cancer and pancreatic cancer.

"Our unique MOTO-CAR technology is designed to convert the patient's own immune system to recognize and fight the cancer," said Kim O'Neill, a BYU professor of microbiology and molecular biology. "We are hoping to make the treatment cost more affordable so that people can use it around the world. If successful, this technology may reduce the need for surgery, chemotherapy or radiation."

BYU students have conducted MOTO-CAR studies for the last six years. To protect the patent process, the results have not yet been formally published. However, BYU patents have now been issued and transferred through a licensing agreement to Thunder Biotech, a research partner company founded by O'Neill in 2016. The researchers are now focused on transforming years of scientific discovery into practical solutions that can benefit patients and society.

Source link