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Feb
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The study aims to understand the mechanisms by which certain body cells are capable of killing tumor cells
International Researchers gathered in the Spanish city of Zaragoza announced they are working on the application of immunotherapy to destroy cancerous tumors.
The announcement was made during the presentation of a conference on "Cytotoxicity, cell death and immune system, which meets at the University of Zaragoza to 120 researchers from 24 countries.
The symposium focuses on the use of immunotherapy to fight cancerous tumors, a new line, "which is not a cancer vaccine," explained the researcher Alberto Anel.
The study aims to understand the mechanisms by which certain body cells are capable of killing tumor cells.
Understanding these mechanisms may be involved in tumors and other diseases caused by viruses or
bacteria, and that basic research may be transferred in a not too distant future to the clinic, said Anel.
Peter Krammer, Center for Cancer Research in Heidelberg, Germany, said it is understandable that the "some anxiety" that exists to find a cure for cancerous tumors, but there are 300 different varieties, some of them also subdivided into distinct classes .
"Cancer is very complicated, almost individual is a disease that needs special treatment and a study in each case," he said.
So, he said, to completely eliminate combined treatments should be applied, and it is absolutely necessary basic research and find different ways to kill tumor cells.
Krammer said in its research center studies the antibodies, "arms" of the immune system are capable of destroying tumor cells and T cells, "murderers" responsible specifically kill those cells.
However, he noted that there are problems like that also affected normal cells, which occurs in the case of chemotherapy and the development of resistance to treatments.
Therefore, investigating how to increase the specificity to treat only the tumor cells, how to break their resistance to treatment and how to eliminate every last one that can hide in a future metastasis.
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