"Smart" cancer drugs show promise

MILFORD, Conn. (WTNH) -- Researchers have discovered a possible breakthrough in the fight against cancer. The so-called smart drugs basically use the immune system to kill late stage cancer.

Yale researchers helped to develop one drug, that in clinical trials show promise for three different cancers: lung, kidney, and melanoma.

Maureen O'Grady is a ball of energy, playing Frisbee with her dog Cody and daughter Kristen in her yard.

However, four years ago it was a much different Maureen.

"I had no hope, I was given an expiration date," she said.

Maureen had hope after learning she had lung cancer.  
 
"I was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer and at that time I had tumors in my right lung and my kidney and my liver," she said.

Lucky for her, Yale Cancer Center offered a clinical trial on a new approach to treating cancer: immunotherapy.

"I was just hoping for stable," she said, "but they were all reduced, every single one of them."

The specific drug, anti-PD 1, acted as a shield, protecting the immune system from cancer cells and at the same time, making it powerful enough to shrink or kill the tumor.
 
Dr. Lieping Chen at Yale Cancer Center said, "This is a very exciting time."

Research by Dr. Chen helped to develop these new class of smart cancer drugs.

Looking at a CT scan, Dr. Chen pointed to it saying, "After a few months you can see there is a major shrinkage, the other part is very clear. This antibody can block the attack of the immune system, so now the immune system becomes more healthy and can attack tumor cells."
      
Other benefits? Dr. Chen says this kind of immune system can generate long term memory, keeping the cancer under control.

"Very few of them recur," he said. "Even if the tumor is still there, they don't grow anymore."       
 
For Maureen, it meant being there for college graduations, a wedding and the birth of her twin grandsons.

"Everyday I'm given I enjoy it," she said.

Maureen added that follow up CAT scans show her tumors have decreased even more.     

Another plus is that she had little side effects while on the drug.

The drug is so promising, they're skipping Phase two trials and are now looking for lung cancer patients to sign on for Phase 3.

Dr. Chen says it could by okayed by the FDA in two to three years.  

To learn more about the clinical trail, email brieanna.hamel@yale.edu or call 203-737-4778.