A team of scientists at Cardiff University has discovered a new part of our immune system that could help treat all cancers, according to a BBC report.
The findings, published in Nature Immunology, have ‘enormous potential’, even though they are yet to be tested in patients, the researchers said.
It is well known that our immune system defends the body against infection and targets cancerous cells. Through this study, the scientists attempted to find ‘unconventional’ ways in which this is done.
They found a T-cell inside people’s blood, which has a ‘receptor’ that can scan the body to assess whether there is a threat that needs to be eliminated, and can attack a wide range of cancers.
Professor Andrew Sewell told the BBC, “There’s a chance here to treat every patient. Previously nobody believed this could be possible.”
More importantly, these don’t attack normal tissues.
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