Immunotherapy

Powerful treatments that save lives

During a family beach vacation the summer before her senior year in high school, Maria Voytko noticed that she didn't feel quite right. "I was unbearably hot in the sun, even though the temperature outside wasn't that high," she recalled of that day a decade ago. "And when I went in the shade, I was freezing."

That evening, she developed a severe headache. When a local physician was unable to identify the cause of her symptoms, the Voytkos drove back to their hometown near Scranton, Pa., where Maria's mother promptly took her to see their family doctor. A blood test revealed a life-threatening cancer called acute myeloid leukemia. The best place for treatment, a local oncologist told her, was clear across the country in Seattle, at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

Hutchinson Center doctors used antibodies — proteins made by the immune system — to deliver radiation directly to Maria's cancer cells, sparing the rest of her body from side effects caused by the potent rays. Next, she received a transplant of her sister Kathy's bone marrow, a technique also pioneered at the Hutchinson Center.

Today, cancer-free, Maria is embarking on a career as a high-school teacher. "It was clear to me that the Hutchinson Center was on the cutting edge of research," she said. "That's what saved my life."

The body's strongest weapon is the immune system

Maria — and thousands of patients like her — is living proof of our success at harnessing the immune system to fight cancer, much as it naturally eliminates everyday infections like the common cold. Our scientists were among the first to recognize this remarkable cancer-fighting potential. Today, we lead a revolutionary new field — called immunotherapy — that yields effective cancer treatments with far fewer side effects than conventional drugs, radiation or surgery.

We've already used this approach to boost survival rates for patients with leukemia and other blood cancers, and recently we've shown it has promise for treating aggressive skin and kidney cancers. We believe that thousands more patients who suffer from breast, ovarian, prostate and other common cancers could also benefit from our dramatically different approach to cancer treatment.

A better way to treat cancer

Some of the most significant immunotherapy discoveries were made here at the Hutchinson Center. They pave the way for the future of cancer treatment.

• Antibody-based treatments to deliver therapy to tumor cells
  Our investigators were instrumental in the development of Mylotarg®, an effective leukemia treatment that is the first FDA-approved antibody-targeted chemotherapy—an agent that improves delivery of a lifesaving drug directly to cancer cells, sparing healthy tissue. What's more, we helped pioneer the use of an antibody for treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, which led to the development of the first medication of its kind approved in the United States for the treatment of malignant disease—the world's top-selling cancer drug, Rituxan™. Today, we're building on this success to develop antibody-based treatments for breast, pancreatic and lung cancers. Read more about antibody research.
  
  
• T-cell therapy to seek out and destroy harmful cancer cells
  We were the first to show that rare disease-fighting immune cells called T cells can be extracted from patients, expanded to large quantities and infused back into patients to treat viral diseases. Now, we're using T cells to develop treatments for melanoma, ovarian and other cancers, and HIV/AIDS. Read more about T-cells.
  
  
• Vaccines to stimulate the immune system to fight cancer relapse
  Just as vaccination boosts the immune system to prevent polio and chicken pox, our initial work shows that vaccines against tumors have the potential to provide long-lasting, nontoxic protection to prevent cancer relapse. Today, we're conducting clinical trials to test cancer vaccines against multiple myeloma, and breast, ovarian and prostate cancers.
  
  
• Mini-transplants that use donor immune cells to fight cancer
  We have developed a milder stem-cell transplant that typically involves no hospitalization, which is extremely successful for treating older patients with blood cancer. What's more, mini-transplant patients don't lose their hair or experience other typical side effects of cancer therapy. We are currently adapting the treatment for solid tumors, including a form of kidney cancer. Read more about mini-transplants.

The future of cancer research starts now

Success stories like Maria Voytko's are only the beginning of what we can achieve for the future of cancer care through immunotherapy research — and private donations are essential to our progress.

"I'm here today because of Hutchinson Center research that took place before I got sick," she said. "But it doesn't stop here — what's being discovered today will help many more people in the future."

Additional information

Learn more online about how you can support our immunotherapy research, or call (206) 667-4399 or (800) 279-1618.

E. Donnall Thomas' Legacy Watch a video about Dr. Thomas, Nobel prize winner and former head of the Clinical Research Division