Emerging treatment at Texas Oncology ‘on the forefront’ of cancer care, doctor says

A Texas Oncology physician says an emerging method of treating certain cancers is proving successful. Bispecific therapy — also called BITE therapy, short for Bispecific T-Cell Engager — has been available at the regional cancer center for about a year, and the results so far are promising, said Dr. C. Lake Littlejohn, who practices at Texas Oncology in Longview and Marshall. Bispecific therapy is “on the forefront of what we’re doing with cancer care,” Littlejohn said. The therapy uses laboratory-made antibodies that attach cancerous cells in a person’s body to the person’s immune cells. It’s administered through an IV like chemotherapy. Cancerous cells in the body tend to hide from immune cells, which have the ability to kill the cancer. “So, bispecifics are trying to bring those two cells into close proximity so the immune cells recognize it,” Littlejohn said. Then, the immune system can do what it does best: attack the cancerous cell.

This excerpt comes from the named source. Read the original for the full reporting.