A research team at the School of Medicine has published a study of a new antibody injection that could eradicate advanced cancer.

Edgar Engleman, senior author of the study and professor of pathology and medicine, has said the team observed tumor eradication, an indication that the body’s immune system might be able to be trained to attack melanoma, pancreatic, breast and lung cancers. The fact that this method targets a range of cancers and tumor types makes it unique.

The researchers’ approach draws from the process by which animals’ bodies reject organ transplants. First, the antibodies bind to foreign tissue such as a tumor. Then, dendritic cells ingest the tumor and alert T-cells. Finally, T-cells multiply and obliterate all cancerous tissue—both tumors and any distant metastases.

This process worked on cancerous mice, allowing them to live cancer-free for more than a year. The same chemicals given to the mice have already been used in clinical trials for cancer patients.

The study has been called a “tour de force” by medical oncologist assistant professor Holbrook Kohrt and will likely influence a therapeutic drug to be used in the clinic.

Contact Tristan Vanech at tvanech ‘at’ stanford.edu.