Antibodies that bind to sugars on the surface of cancer cells, rather than to proteins, have not yielded satisfactory results so far due to their low binding affinity. However, scientists at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) have developed therapeutic proteins that recognize so-called tumor-associated carbohydrate antigens (TACAs) using lectins with a robust structure resembling velcro. This design is highly specific and eliminates only tumor cells, regardless of cancer type, while sparing healthy tissues.

Renal cell carcinoma accounts for approximately 90% of kidney cancers, and current treatments fail to prevent metastasis in up to 40% of patients. Potentially effective is immunotherapy based on CAR T cells that recognize CD70, which is little expressed in normal tissues but is expressed in more than 80% of renal cell carcinomas. However, such CAR T immunotherapy has so far not shown overwhelming success against renal cell carcinoma, and the therapeutic cells must be derived for each patient individually.

Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery remains the gold standard treatment for patients with severe atherosclerosis, but the long-term failure of the grafted veins is a persistent challenge. Excessive vascular smooth muscle cell (vSMC) proliferation in the grafted tissue, promoted by the increased exposure of vSMCs to pro-inflammatory mediators and cytokines, is a key driver of late CABG failure. A team of researchers from the University of Edinburgh and collaborators previously identified a human-specific long noncoding RNA, named SMILR, that is enriched in vSMC and promotes its proliferation.

Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co KG has advanced a novel T-cell engager resulting from a collaboration with Numab Therapeutics AG into preclinical development for the treatment of lung and gastrointestinal cancers.