Synthetic RNA Blocks Tumor Formation in Cancer Model

The dsRNA inhibited liver cancer initiation, apparently by boosting multiple anti-tumor activities of innate immunity, including induction of immunoregulatory cytokines, activation of NK (natural killer) cells and dendritic cells, and reprogramming of macrophage polarization.

"The findings suggest that the drug may prevent liver cancer. We have more work to do, but we could make a real impact at a time when liver cancer rates are increasing," said senior author Dr. Gen-Sheng Feng, professor of pathology and molecular biology at the University of California, San Diego. "There is a large population living with chronic liver disease who are at high risk of developing cancer. If we can develop a vaccine that prevents tumor formation or a therapeutic combination that stops existing cancer from growing, we could reduce the rapid increase of liver cancer rates."

"The liver has unique immune tolerance, which is why existing treatments, including immunotherapy, have little to no lasting effects on liver cancer," said Dr. Feng. "We were initially performing gene deletion to investigate how different types of cells communicate in the liver to promote or suppress cancer development when we found that this synthetic double-stranded RNA prevented liver cancer from initiating by harnessing the body's own innate immune system."

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University of California, San Diego