New therapies prevent cancer cells from evading immune cell detection and destruction

The relationship between the immune system and cancer is a field under intense investigation. Numerous new therapies that target these interactions are changing the way cancer is treated. This is especially true in lung cancer, as inflammation that is caused by COPD or tobacco smoke is a major risk factor. The Wednesday session, Manipulating Inflammatory and Epithelial Networks for Prevention and Treatment of Lung Cancer, will address these new therapies and more. 

“The session will discuss some of the basic and translational science findings that are providing a better understanding of the interplay between different pieces of the body’s inflammatory response and cancer cells,” says session moderator Edwin Ostrin, MD, PhD, assistant professor of internal medicine and pulmonary medicine at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. “Topics will range from the basic science of new advances in understanding the response of immune cells to cancer cells and the ability of cancer cells to evade detection by immune cells to translational biology, such as harnessing the immune system to prevent lung cancer.”

Also speaking will be a patient who will give her perspective on these new therapies, which prevent cancer cells from evading immune cell detection and destruction. Bobbi Johnson-Filipiak was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer, although she was never a smoker, and has had an amazing response to one of the new therapies. 

“The last three to four years have seen the introduction of immunotherapy to clinical practice,” Dr. Ostrin says. “This has dramatically changed how we treat, and even how we think about advanced lung cancer.” 

He adds, “Understanding the science behind immune cell/cancer cell crosstalk gives insight into future directions for therapy.” 

A Patient’s Perspective

When Bobbi Johnson-Filipiak went in to the hospital to have her baby, she never expected to leave with a cancer diagnosis. But when she started having strange symptoms after an emergency C-section, a CT scan of her chest revealed stage III lung cancer. Never a smoker, Ms. Johnson-Filipiak was shocked but determined to fight.

Patient Bobbi Johnson-Filipiak provides a perspective on new therapies for lung cancer.

She started with a traditional treatment of radiation, chemotherapy, and surgery, which put her into remission for 18 months. But the cancer came back and progressed to stage IV. A biopsy revealed a particular genetic mutation that made her a great candidate for immunotherapy. She joined a clinical trial, and the treatment worked for two years. But then her cancer came back. This time, a biopsy revealed a new mutation that made her eligible for a clinical trial at MD Anderson Cancer Center involving a targeted therapy drug called poziotinib. She began that trial in August 2017, and so far, the results have been good. 

“I take just one pill a day now,” Ms. Johnson-Filipiak says. “My tumors started shrinking almost immediately, and by the beginning of October 2017, they were half their original size. That just shows you the effectiveness of this drug, which is amazing.” Although her dosage had to be reduced twice due to the side effects, her scans since then have been stable, with no growth or reduction.

“I’ve come to terms with the fact that stable is a good thing in a stage IV situation,” she says. 

Ms. Johnson-Filipiak says she’s looking forward to sharing her story with the attendees at Wednesday’s session. 

“I think it’s important for them to see a patient like myself, who has gone from traditional chemo treatments to advanced immunotherapy treatments through my own advocacy,” she said. “It’s also an opportunity for me to thank these experts for all of their work and effort in advancing cancer research in the last decade and to encourage them to keep pushing, to keep fighting for me and other cancer patients.”