R.C. Anderson
Body’s Immune System Enlisted to Fight Cancer
September 15th 2008 15:00
Antibodies' recognition of and attachment to cell proteins
Immunotherapy tries to correct this by forcing the immune system to recognize and attack the unruly proliferation of cells. Although there are several ways to accomplish this, one way uses antibodies developed specifically to a protein made only by cancer cells. Once a patient has been given these antibodies, they circulate through the body and are drawn, like magnets, to the cancer cells and the proteins they make. Like magnets of opposite polarity, the antibody and protein latch on to one another. In essence, this marks the cancer cell and stimulates the body’s immune system. This antibody marking allows the immune system to finally “see” the cancer cells. When this occurs, the cancer cells can be destroyed exclusively, without harming adjacent healthy, normal cells.
While several immunotherapy techniques of this sort are still in clinical trials, the possibility of a cancer-cure seems closer than ever. Within a few years or the next decade, cancer may become a domesticated problem rather than a feral beast.
Source: Scientific American Special Edition, September 2008, Vol 18, Num 3
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