A UK trial is underway to find out whether a cancer drug can improve recovery after a heart attack.
The research is funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and, if successful, could lead to the first treatment of its kind.
The phase 2a clinical trial has shown that low doses of aldesleukin can improve heart attack recovery by preventing immune cells from overwhelming the damaged heart.
In the findings are replicated in larger trials, scientists hope that the drug could be used to treat patients within five years.
Dr Tian Zhao, British Heart Foundation Clinical Lecturer in Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Cambridge, said:
“It’s only in the past decade that we’ve begun to understand the considerable role that the immune system plays in heart attack recovery.
“In this study we’ve shown, for the first time, that low doses of aldesleukin given to heart attack patients can enhance the number of anti-inflammatory cells in the immune system.
“Previous research has suggested that this can reduce inflammation in blood vessels and improve heart healing.
“Our ongoing study will give us the first signs of whether this is having clinical benefits for patients.
“We hope these results will bring us one step closer to the first treatment that can stop the damaging immune response that follows a heart attack.”
In the study, 16 heart attack patients were given one of two doses of aldesleukin or a placebo.
The drug was injected under the skin in their abdomen once a day for five days.
Patients were then followed up again a week after receiving their final dose.
The patients who received aldesleukin had a significantly greater increase in the number of the regulatory T cells that calm inflammation a week after their last dose, compared to the placebo group.
The T cells were not only increasing in number, they were also becoming more anti-inflammatory.
Low doses of aldesleukin also decreased the level of other harmful immune cells, suggesting another way that the drug improves healing.
A larger study is now investigating whether lower doses of aldesleukin after a heart attack can reduce inflammation in patients’ blood vessels.
BHF Associate Medical Director, Professor James Leiper , said:
“In the UK one person is admitted to hospital with a heart attack every five minutes.
“Thankfully, more people than ever are surviving heart attacks, but some will be left with long-term health problems such as heart failure.
“We urgently need new treatments that can help people to make a better recovery after a heart attack and reduce their risk of future ill health.
“Treatments that can unlock the anti-inflammatory power of the immune system have the potential to become a new treatment option for heart attack patients.
“This research is an important step towards making this type of treatment a reality.”
