Harnessing the Power of the Immune System to Fight Cancer

The human body has a natural ability to fight and eliminate cancer cells through its immune system. In fact, by middle age, most of us have several microscopic tumours that our immune systems are successfully destroying without us even noticing. However, when these tumours begin to evade the immune system's defences, they can grow and cause symptoms. Recent advances in research have led to the development of treatments that harness the immune system's cancer-killing powers, offering new hope for those affected by cancer.

Key Takeaways:

• The immune system is already capable of fighting and eliminating cancer cells, but it can be enhanced with the right treatments.
• Researchers have been developing genetically modified immune cells that can precision-engineer T-cells to destroy cancer cells.
• Therapeutic vaccines are being developed to boost the immune response against cancer, with several in trials for cancers of the bowel, skin, and head and neck.
• Scientists are working on developing vaccines to prevent cancer from starting, with multiple vaccines in development against cancers of the lung, breast, bowel, and endometrium.
• The concept of an "All Vax" or vaccine against all cancers is being explored, with a team at the University of Oxford receiving funding from two major pharmaceutical companies.
• Tests for pre-cancers that detect the immune response in the blood are being developed, which could allow for earlier treatment and a better chance of a cure.
• A urine test for multiple tumours is being developed, which could give a positive result up to five years before a cancer diagnosis.

Statistics:

• Half of people now survive for at least a decade after a cancer diagnosis, with better survival rates due to improvements in therapies.
• 2 in 10 women have an unnoticed breast cancer or pre-cancer at the time of death.
• 6 in 10 men who are 80 or older have unseen prostate cancer.
• T-cells can recognize and destroy cancer cells through their mutations.
• Checkpoint inhibitors, a type of cancer drug, work by blocking proteins that act as a brake on the immune system, although they do not work for everyone.
• CAR-T cell therapy against cancers of the stomach has been found to help people live somewhat longer, from 5.5 months to eight months, in a small, randomized trial.

Sources:

• Clare Wilson, "The untapped power of the human body to fight cancer", New Scientist (publication date not specified)
• Professor Sarah Blagden, University of Oxford
• Dr Dani Edmunds, Cancer Research UK (CRUK)
• Dr Catherine Elliott, director of research at CRUK
• Dr Victoria Goss, researcher at the University of Southampton
• Elypta, a Swedish company working on a urine test for multiple tumours
• BioNTech, a German company that has developed mRNA-based cancer vaccines.