Breakthrough20 May 2025 13:39
Breakthrough from a Finnish university: The effectiveness of a cancer drug can be predicted using a genetic profile
Ville Mäkilä
Published 20.05.2025 | 12:52
Updated 20.05.2025 | 12:52
Medicine
The new discovery enables even better treatment outcomes.
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Researchers at the University of Turku have taken a step towards more personalized and effective cancer treatments. A new study has revealed under what conditions the antibody drug bexmarilimab can activate the body's own defense system against cancer and how to identify patients who will benefit from the drug.
The drug bexmarilimab is able to stimulate macrophages, which are part of the body's defense cells, to act against cancer. The study found that this happens especially when the tumor's immediate environment is immune-silent.
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Additionally, the researchers found that bexmarilimab activated B-cell-mediated immune responses in healthy tissue adjacent to the tumor, regardless of how sensitive the adjacent tumor was to the treatment, suggesting that the drug may also have immunological effects outside the tumor.
Using previous knowledge of the changes that bexmarilimab causes in tumors, the researchers were able to verify the benefit of bexmarilimab by measuring five different genes, creating a so-called gene expression profile. This may enable more accurate patient selection and improved treatment outcomes in the future.
– Gene expression profiling is a tool that allows us to identify patients whose tumors are susceptible to the effects of bexmarilimab. Gene profiles measured from tumors provide support for treatment decisions and can target treatment to patients who are likely to benefit. The next step is clinical validation of the gene profile, which would enable its use as part of more accurate patient profiling, says the study's lead author, doctoral researcher Jenna Rannikko, in a press release.
The study used tissue samples from patients, which truly mimic the interaction between a tumor and the body's immune system. The tissue samples showed similar responses to those seen in the patient studies with bexmarilimab.
Beksmarilimab was developed in Finland and has shown promising results in several solid cancer types. The current study will increase our understanding of how beksmarilimab can be used most effectively in the future.
“By better understanding the cancer microenvironment, we can target immunotherapies to those patients who are likely to benefit most,” says study leader Docent Maija Hollmén. She notes that understanding the factors that influence drug efficacy may also lead to the treatment being expanded to new patient groups in time.
https://www.verkkouutiset.fi/a/suomalaisen-yliopiston-lapimurto-syopalaakkeen-teho-voidaan-ennustaa-geeniprofiililla/#004eb188
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