The Problem
Solid cancers represent the greatest proportion of cancer diagnoses globally, and are more difficult to treat than blood cancers. Part of this disparity is that early detection of solid cancers is more challenging, and most can only be effectively treated by surgically removing a patient’s tumors. Many patients are diagnosed when their tumors are too advanced for surgery, leaving them with few options.
Interestingly, patients who do survive solid cancers seem to have a trick up their immune systems’ sleeves: their bodies form new tumor-fighting lymph organs resembling lymph nodes either within or near their tumors. These tertiary lymphoid organs (TLOs) or tertiary lymph systems (TLS) work in two ways: they suppress the growth of tumors and enlist the body’s native immune cells to directly attack the tumors.
The presence of TLOs has been documented in ten different types of solid tumor cancers, including pancreatic cancers, breast and lung cancers. While we do not yet understand why some patients generate these lifesaving structures and others don’t, being able to induce TLO formation in all patients could offer a new form of treatment for solid cancers.
Our Solution
NodeTX is a novel approach to immunotherapy that aims to leverage the human body’s innate ability to form TLOs to fight cancer. Using inspiration from nature and their combined expertise in immunology and tissue engineering, the NodeTX team has created an in vitro model of human TLOs and used it to study how they form, are populated with immune cells, and affect the growth of pancreatic tumors, one of the deadliest forms of cancer for which there are no treatment options beyond surgery.
Leveraging their in vitro findings, the team has successfully induced the formation of functional TLOs in mice in vivo replicating the results they obtained in the Organ Chips. They are currently exploring the potential benefits of generating TLOs ex vivo for potential implantation into cancer patients. They have demonstrated that their technology works with FDA-approved biomaterials, and are also investigating TLOs’ effects on other solid cancers.
NodeTX was named a Wyss Validation Project in 2022 and 2023. The NodeTX team is currently seeking collaborations with industry for therapeutic development and with investors interested in advancing the technology into the clinic.