'AI anti-cancer' turns brain tumor cells into immune cells: survival rate soars by 75%, and is about to enter clinical trials

The Keck School of Medicine of USC used AI technology to convert brain cancer cells into immune cells, improving survival chances by 75% in a mouse model of glioblastoma. Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and deadliest brain cancer, known for its high aggressiveness, high recurrence rate, and low survival rate. After diagnosis, patients often have an average life expectancy of only about one year.

1. Glioblastoma is the second most common brain tumor after meningiomas, with approximately 3 cases per 100,000 people per year.

2. Without treatment, survival is usually only 3 months, and less than 10% of patients survive five years after diagnosis.
3. And glioblastoma is very difficult to treat for a number of reasons.
4. Although immunotherapy is effective against other cancers, glioblastoma is difficult for immune cells to reach due to the blood-brain barrier (BBB) ​​and can also cause brain damage.

   

Faced with this medical problem, scholars at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California (USC) conducted a series of new studies with the support of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), using artificial intelligence technology to control Cell fate - Convert cancer cells into immune cells.

1. Researchers have discovered that they can use artificial intelligence to identify and reprogram the genes of glioblastoma cells to turn them into dendritic cells (DCs) that effectively target and destroy cancer cells around them.
2. In a mouse model of glioblastoma, this approach increased survival chances by 75%. The findings have just been published in Cancer Immunology Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

   

   1. Paper address: https://doi.org/10.1158/2326-6066.CIR-23-0721
3. In this new study, the research team used artificial intelligence to find a group of human GBM cells that could Genes transformed into DC cells can embed genetic material into viral vectors and deliver them to GBM patients.
4. Dr. David Tran is the study's lead author and is an associate professor of neurosurgery and neurology and chief of the Division of Neuro-Oncology at the Keck School of Medicine, where he also directs the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and Brain Tumor Center.

   

   "This groundbreaking research harnesses the power of artificial intelligence to transform glioblastoma cells into immune-activating cells, marking a major advance in cancer immunotherapy," said Dr. David Tran.
   "By turning cancer's own cells against it, we are paving the way for more effective treatments and providing new hope for patients battling this and many other aggressive cancers."

Control cells The fate of dendritic cells is critical in activating the immune response, picking up antigens and presenting them to other immune cells.

3D Model of Dendritic Cells Dendritic cells play a central role in activating immune responses by sampling antigens, such as cancer cells, and presenting them to other immune cells, including legions of T cells.

While previous studies have shown that dendritic cells can fight GBM, researchers have yet to find a reliable way for them to cross the blood-brain barrier and enter tumors.

So the research team bypassed this huge difficulty by reprogramming existing cancer cells within the tumor.

However, specificity is an important consideration.

“We don’t want to inject patients with something that converts all kinds of cells into dendritic cells,” Dr. Tran said.

The research team used the high computing power of artificial intelligence to develop a machine learning system to conduct in-depth analysis of tens of thousands of genes and millions of inter-gene connections.

This method can accurately identify targeted glioblastoma cells and then reprogram them into a dendritic cell-like gene combination.

This process is not only complex and extremely challenging, but the intervention of artificial intelligence has greatly accelerated this discovery process.

In order to verify the effectiveness of this method, the research team conducted a large number of experiments in glioblastoma mouse models.

They found that genetically reprogrammed glioblastoma cells can significantly enhance the immune response in mice, effectively inhibit tumor growth and extend the survival of mice.

When used with other immunotherapies, reprogramming GBM cells can greatly improve immune responses and survival in mouse models.

When combined with immune checkpoint therapy, the chance of survival increased by 75%; furthermore, when combined with the classic DC vaccine, the new approach doubled the chance of survival. But neither therapy alone increases the chances of survival in patients with GBM.

Tran said, "Artificial intelligence is helping us solve key problems in the fight against cancer and provides us with powerful methods to manipulate cell fate."

From the laboratory to the clinic

Although current research is still in the animal model stage, But this breakthrough result has brought unlimited possibilities for the clinical treatment of glioblastoma.

In addition to proof-of-concept studies in mice, researchers used their artificial intelligence system to identify a set of human genes that transform human glioblastoma cells into dendritic cell-like cells .

The research team stated that they will next fine-tune these gene combinations and plan to package them into harmless viral vectors for further safety and effectiveness testing in animal models.

Tran said, "We hope to expand the search and use artificial intelligence to help us find the best combination possible when testing it on patients."

If this approach is deemed safe and effective - that means it Improved outcomes in glioblastoma models without unintended side effects.

If the method is deemed safe and effective, the team will apply for approval to begin clinical trials on patients within a few years.

In addition, the research team also hopes to use their artificial intelligence model to explore more gene combinations that can reprogram other types of cancer cells, providing new ideas and methods for more types of cancer treatment.

They believe that through the perfect combination of artificial intelligence and genetic engineering, humans will be able to unlock more keys to treating cancer and bring hope to more patients.

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