Team develops drug that could boost tumor treatmentStaff writer, with CNAA Taiwanese research team has developed a drug that shows promise for boosting immunotherapy in the treatment of malignant tumors, it said on Monday. In animal trails, the drug helped boost immunotherapy efficacy by 30 to 40 percent in the treatment of tumors, said research team leader Alan Lee (李岳倫), of the National Institute of Cancer Research. While the drug VEGF121-VEGF165 proved effective against tissue tumors in animal trails, it was not tested for use in the treatment of blood cancer, Lee told a news conference. With VEGF121-VEGF165, the research team has developed a fusion protein drug that can breach the “Captain America” shield and enter the tumor’s microenvironment, thus enhancing immunotherapy to fight the cancer cells, he said. VEGF is an abbreviation for vascular endothelial growth factor, a signaling protein that promotes the growth of new blood vessels.

Source: Taipei Times August 17, 2021 15:56 UTC