Research seeks ways to use body's own immune system to fight cancer
The battle against cancer is still ongoing, although the development of numerous drugs and therapies over the years has helped somewhat.
The battle against cancer is still ongoing, although the development of numerous drugs and therapies over the years has helped somewhat. Many women who have breast cancer are advised to buy Tamoxifen, while other medications exist to help slow the progression of other diseases.
Meanwhile, current studies are exploring new ways to use the body's own mechanisms to fight off cancer. One paper published in the British Journal of Cancer suggested that the development of vaccines that encourage this process of natural defense could help fight a variety of illnesses.
Lead author Wai Liu and his team used a germ called Baculillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG), which is commonly used against tuberculosis. They found that this pathogen helps instruct white blood cells to produce cytokines, proteins that help immune cells recognize tumors as foreign.
"Cancerous cells are known to camouflage themselves as unhealthy cells. This means our blood cells responsible for immunity aren't able to recognize the cancerous cells as being a problem and so the disease is able to continue to spread," Liu explained.
He added that using the body's own immune system could result in patients taking less medication, recovering more quickly and experiencing fewer side effects.
|
