JERUSALEM, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Israeli-Portuguese-Italian research team has developed a new treatment for melanoma, the Weizmann Institute of Science (WIS) reported Monday.
The study, which included researchers from WIS, Tel Aviv University in central Israel, the University of Lisbon and the University of Turin, was published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.
In the research, the team developed a combination of three strategies: immunotherapy, consideration of the cancerous tumor environment, and nanoparticle vaccination.
The combined therapy activates the immune system's cells to function in a targeted manner against the cancer cells and prevents the tumor environment from inhibiting their activity.
The researchers also found, however, that blood cells entered the tumors, inhibiting the activity of immune cells against the cancer.
To counteract the effects of blood cells, the researchers added the drug Ibrutinib, which inhibits the activity of these cells.
The therapy, which includes the nanoparticle vaccine, immunotherapy, and Ibrutinib, has doubled the amount of time it takes for tumor regeneration from 18 to 40 days.
The researchers plan to test the efficacy of triple therapy for other cancer types such as pancreatic, intestinal and prostate cancers.
