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Health and Medical Information

Melanoma

Investigational Therapies Relating to Melanoma

Cancer Treatment at UPMC Health System

Immunotherapy and Cancer Vaccines
Gene Therapy
Learn About Clinical Trials at University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI)

Immunotherapy and Cancer Vaccines
For treatment of advanced melanoma, researchers are pursuing immunotherapy -- treatment designed to increase the body’s natural resistance. Investigators are also studying combinations of immunotherapy and chemotherapy in hopes of finding a combination that shrinks tumors and helps the immune system recognize and destroy tumor cells.

The Cells of the Immune System
A major part of melanoma immunotherapy research involves understanding the fundamental parts of the immune system and learning how each part fights infections and tumors. Researchers at the Melanoma Center of UPMC Health System's University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) and elsewhere have helped identify the different types of white blood cells that make up the immune-system "army":

  • Dendritic cells. These cells are the scouts and signal corps of the immune army. They identify cancerous cells and help other immune cells recognize them.

  • CD4 T cells. The generals of the immune-system army, CD4 T cells coordinate the attack and tell other immune cells what to do.

  • B cells. The B cells, a group of proteins called antibodies, are the body's equivalent of guided missiles. These proteins stick to cancer cells and help direct immune attacks at them, with input from CD4 cells and dendritic cells.

  • CD8 T cells. The CD8 T cells are the front-line fighters, acting on guidance provided by the CD4 and dendritic cells to attack and kill cancer cells.

Immunotherapy Studies
UPCI Melanoma Center doctors are currently developing immunotherapies designed to help treat melanoma by activating the appropriate immune-cell response. These therapies are being tested for effectiveness in studies involving human patients.

Studies involving tumor-cell markers. In one series of studies, researchers are trying to increase the presence of "markers" on tumor cells -- markers that T cells can recognize and that are targeted by the antibodies produced by B cells. Because this type of immunotherapy teaches the body to recognize a specific marker on a tumor cell rather than to "soup up" the immune response in general, this type of immunotherapy is sometimes called a cancer vaccine.

Researchers hope that cancer vaccines will have fewer and less serious side effects than do immunotherapy agents or chemotherapy, which act more broadly. In the future, vaccines may be used to prevent melanoma recurrence in patients with a high risk of recurrence and -- someday -- even to prevent melanoma in healthy people.

Studies of cytokine stimulation. In another group of clinical trials involving immunotherapy, UPCI researchers are using a family of proteins called cytokines to stimulate dendritic or CD8 T cells. The hope is that the stimulation will make the immune cells better at recognizing tumor cells as well as improve their ability to guide other immune cells to fight the tumors.

The Melanoma Center at UPCI has conducted a series of trials involving cytokines called alfa-2 interferons and an interleukin called IL-2. The goal of the trials is to determine if these proteins -- used alone, together, or in combination with conventional chemotherapy -- can help melanoma patients.

So far, the data from the alfa-2 trials indicate that -- for patients with high-risk melanoma that can be treated with surgery -- alfa-2 interferons used alone resulted in the greatest reduction in patient relapse and death after surgery.

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Gene Therapy
Another promising avenue of melanoma research is gene therapy. In gene therapy, doctors repair, replace, or interfere with cancer-associated genes in tumor cells or surrounding healthy cells. Different gene therapy approaches include strengthening the immune system or making the tumor cells more vulnerable either to the body's natural defenses or to human-engineered drugs.

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Learn About Clinical Trials at UPCI
The University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) is a UPMC Health System program that specializes in cancer treatment and research. To speak to a UPCI specialist who can provide information about participating in a UPCI clinical trial -- a study that tests an investigational treatment -- call 412-647-2811. Or you may prefer to explore a database about UPCI clinical trials. UPCI maintains such a database on its Web site. Read the instructions that follow before accessing the site.

After you use the link on this page to access the UPCI Web page called Protocol Database Search, you will choose the option Search Database. The page you will see refers to clinical trials as research protocols. Go to the box labeled Center; access the Center drop-down menu by clicking the down arrow. Choose the topic of interest, then go to the bottom of the page and click Start Search. A list of relevant trials will appear.

To access the UPCI research protocol database, click Search for a UPCI Clinical Trial.

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