Tailored cancer treatment: VUB research predicts which patients benefit from immunotherapy

Immunotherapy is a type of cancer treatment that stimulates a patient’s immune system to attack tumors. While promising, its effectiveness varies among patients. The new VUB technology helps identify in advance which patients are likely to benefit from this treatment.

The study introduces an innovative tracer targeting CD163, a molecular receptor on tumor-associated macrophages—immune cells that support tumor growth and protection. The tracer is based on nanobodies, small and versatile antibodies derived from camelids like llamas, which can penetrate deep into tissues. Using scans, researchers can measure the quantity of these macrophages within a tumor. A higher number of macrophages suggests the tumor is more resistant to treatment, making immunotherapy less effective. This allows doctors to predict which patients will respond best to the therapy.

“You can compare a tumor to a secret gang, not just made up of cancer cells but also other cells working together. Some of these cells, the tumor-associated macrophages, pretend to be on the good side but actually help the tumor grow and shield it from treatments. Our new nanobody tracer acts like a detective, locating and highlighting these macrophages using specialized scans. This helps us understand their behavior and how to target them. For patients, this means we can better predict which treatment will work best, avoiding unnecessary treatments and side effects,” explains Professor Timo De Groof from the Molecular Imaging and Therapy research group (MITH) at VUB.

Benefits of the Nanobody Tracer:

• Specific and safe: The tracer exclusively binds to CD163+ macrophages without disrupting the immune system.
• Quick therapy assessment: Mapping CD163+ macrophages helps determine whether immunotherapy is effective.
• Broad applications: The technology may also be used for inflammatory conditions like atherosclerosis and arthritis, where CD163+ macrophages play a critical role.

A Significant Step Toward Personalized Medicine

Professor Nick Devoogdt, head of the MITH research group, highlights that this discovery marks an important step toward personalized medicine. “This technology enables us to tailor therapies to individual patients, making treatments more effective,” he says. Professor Jo Van Ginderachter of the VIB Center for Inflammation Research and the Brussels Center for Immunology adds, “This opens new doors not only in oncology but also in other diseases involving the immune system.”

The project was supported by funding from the EU/EFPIA Immune-Image program and the FWO.

Reference:

Y. Lauwers, T.W.M. De Groof, C. Vincke, J. VanCraenenbroeck, N.A. Jumapili, R.M. Barthelmess, G. Courtoy, W. Waelput, T. De Pauw, G. Raes, N. Devoogdt, J.A. Van Ginderachter, Imaging of tumor-associated macrophage dynamics during immunotherapy using a CD163-specific nanobody-based immunotracer (2024) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 121 (52) e2409668121, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2409668121 .