Avid Bioservices Inc (CDMO)

[hutschi]

A perfect storm

The discovery took more than a year of close observation of mouse models of cancer. The team cultured different kinds of cancer cells and used chemotherapy and other targeted drugs to kill those cells in vitro. Then, the "drug-generated debris" was collected and combined with living tumor cells both in vitro and in vivo.

Strikingly, they saw that the co-mingling of debris and living tumors cells resulted in 100 times more accelerated tumor growth. And the culprit? A particular molecule—named phosphatidylserine—that appears during the cell death process that remains exposed on the dead cell fragments.

Once detected by the immune system, phosphatidylserine sets off a flood of pro-inflammatory activity, creating the perfect storm for unfettered tumor growth from cancer cells that evaded initial drugging. These tumors are then resistant to further chemotherapy.

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-01-dulling-cancer-therapy-double-edged-sword.html