Genprex Honors June as Cancer Immunotherapy Month
Genprex is supporting The Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) and the Cancer Research Institute’s Annual Cancer Immunotherapy Month in June, which is dedicated to helping raise awareness of the lifesaving potential immunotherapy holds for cancer.
“At Genprex, we’re in full support of immunotherapy and gene therapy treatments to fight cancer,” said Rodney Varner, Genprex’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Research has shown that immunotherapies boost the body’s natural defenses to fight diseases, such as cancer. However, research also shows that not every cancer patient can benefit from immunotherapies. We are committed to developing new treatment options for patients who cannot currently benefit from immunotherapies.”
Genprex is raising the standard in cancer treatment by developing what it calls an “immunogene therapy” for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), which harnesses the power of immunotherapy’s immunomodulation through the delivery of a gene therapy.
The company’s lead drug candidate, Oncoprex™ immunogene therapy, works in part as an immunotherapy because it modulates the body’s immune response against cancer. The TUSC2 gene, which is the active agent in Oncoprex, has been shown to upregulate Natural Killer cells, or NK cells. These NK cells are known for their ability to kill tumor cells.1 TUSC2 has also been shown to downregulate PD-L1, or programmed cell death ligand-1, receptors. These receptors, which are also known as immune checkpoint proteins, can sometimes help cancer evade detection. TUSC2 works to downregulate, or suppress them, which helps the body’s immune system to fight against the cancer.This Cancer Immunotherapy Month, we hope clinicians, researchers and patients are able to learn more about cancer immunotherapy as we all join in the effort to fight cancer.
References:
1. Eissmann, P. (2019). Natural Killer Cells | British Society for Immunology. [online] Immunology.org. Available at: https://www.immunology.org/public-information/bitesized-immunology/cells/natural-killer-cells [Accessed 5 Sep. 2019].