A new study from King's College London reveals that IgE antibody therapy could effectively shrink treatment-resistant breast and ovarian cancers.

Published in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer, the research indicates that IgE antibodies can stimulate the immune system against HER2-positive tumors, offering hope for patients unresponsive to current therapies.

Led by Dr. Heather Bax, the study engineered IgE versions of IgG therapies to enhance immune cell activation against HER2-expressing cancer cells.

The research explores how IgE antibodies engage immune cells in the tumor microenvironment, potentially enhancing efficacy against solid tumors.

HER2-positive cancers are typically treated with IgG-based therapies like trastuzumab (Herceptin) and pertuzumab, but resistance to these treatments is common.

In mouse models of trastuzumab-resistant HER2-positive tumors, IgE therapy significantly slowed tumor growth and increased infiltration of activated T cells while decreasing immunosuppressive cells.

Co-author Professor Sophia Karagiannis emphasized that IgE antibodies have shown consistent effectiveness against hard-to-treat solid tumors, indicating a promising new class of cancer drugs.

She also highlighted that IgE antibodies activate the human immune system to restrict cancer growth across various tumor types.

With further development, researchers believe IgE therapies could be available for human use within 3 to 5 years.

Pending further development and clinical trials, IgE-based immunotherapy could potentially be available in the same timeframe.