Polymer-Coated Nanoparticles Deliver IL-12 Directly to Ovarian Tumors
Nanoparticles carrying IL-12 are non-toxic, elicit strong systemic antitumor immunity, and sensitize ovarian tumors to ICI therapy, a new study shows.
Cancer immunotherapies, such as immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), are effective against many types of cancer. However, these treatments don’t work well for some tumors, including ovarian cancer (OC).
MIT researchers have now designed polymer-coated nanoparticles (NPs) that can deliver the immune-stimulating molecule IL-12 directly to ovarian tumors.
Preclinical studies showed that when given alongside immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy, IL-12 helped the immune system launch an attack on cancer cells.
Working with a mouse model of ovarian cancer, the researchers demonstrated that the combination treatment could eliminate metastatic tumors in more than 80% of animals.
When the mice were later injected with more cancer cells to simulate tumor recurrence, their immune cells remembered the tumor proteins and cleared them again.
Author summary: Nanoparticles deliver IL-12 to ovarian tumors.