How Immune System 'Balancing Act' Could Help Treat Cancer

An immune system balancing act performed by scientists could yield new cancer^[1] treatments, experts hope.

Researchers succeeded in harnessing the immune system to attack tumours^[2] without harming healthy cells.

Under normal conditions, regulatory T-cells - part of the immune system - help prevent extreme and dangerous auto-immune reactions.

But this can stop the immune system mounting a strong enough attack on cancer.

Scientists discovered that blocking a particular enzyme can safely reduce the effect of the regulatory cells, known as Tregs.

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By suppressing the enzyme with a drug, they were able to lower Treg function in mice with cancer and at the same time limit tumour growth.

"This preclinical study demonstrates proof of principle that using a drug to regulate the function of a special immunosuppressive subset of so-called T-regulatory (Treg) cells safely controls tumour growth," said US study leader Dr Wayne Hancock, from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia^[5] . "It really moves the field along towards a potentially major, new cancer immunotherapy."

The findings are reported in the journal Nature Medicine^[6] .

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References

1. ^{^} cancer (www.huffingtonpost.co.uk)


2. ^{^} tumours (www.huffingtonpost.co.uk)


3. ^{^} How Stem Cells Can Be Used To Fight Cancer (www.huffingtonpost.co.uk)


4. ^{^} Five Foods That Could Save Your Life - Including Chocolate (www.huffingtonpost.co.uk)


5. ^{^} The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (www.chop.edu)


6. ^{^} Nature Medicine (www.nature.com)