Immune Activation Following Irbesartan Treatment in a Colorectal Cancer Patient: A Case Study
, R. A. Holt 1,6, B. H. Nelson 2,6, S. J. M. Jones 1, J. Laskin 5, H. J. Lim 5 and M. A. Marra 1,6,*
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThis is a single case, and the evidence presented, despite suggesting the conclusions that the authors point to, cannot rule out other types of interactions. It should be treated with caution as a clinical case description and not as a research article per se.
Author Response
We thank the reviewer for their time in critiquing our study. We agree that there may be alternative interactions occurring as it is a single case study and analysis is limited. In the discussion, we mentioned PPAR? as a potential alternative mechanism, as well as interaction with the MHC in a hypersensitivity context. To address the reviewer’s comment, we have tried to expand on this and present these ideas more directly as alternative mechanisms, as well as introduce other literature.
Additionally, we edited the last paragraph of the discussion to try and make this point more directly:
“Although this is a single case study, and there may be other potential mechanisms for the response observed, we present evidence linking involvement of the immune system with a prolonged clinical benefit for a colorectal cancer patient treated solely with irbesartan. Further studies are warranted to fully understand the mechanism behind the response, and how use of ARBs may be applicable to other CRC patients.”
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThis paper reported a case of colorectal cancer treated with Irbesartan and tried to explore its mechanism of action.
Overall, the structure of the paper is well organized. The flow is logical. The results are clearly presented. I especially like the figures, all are well made and easy to follow.
Although it is only a case study, but this research presents novel insights to the field. I encourage the authors to keep working on this topic and expanding the understanding of their findings.
