How do human bodies fight against cancer? Why patients often relapse following treatment?

  How do human bodies fight against cancer? Why patients often relapse a following treatment?

Researchers have an identified a process by which our body's immune system can be triggered to a attack cancer cells. The research, published in the Journal of a Clinical Investigation, could help develop new an approaches to a treating a people with leukaemia - a blood cancer.

The team from the University of an East Anglia (UEA) and Quadram Institute found that immune cells known as macrophages could be programmed to a attack the cancer cells through a protein known as STING (Stimulator of an interferon genes), a well-established an activator of the immune system.

"Our results provide an insight into how the immune system is able to be utilised to attack cancers if a given the right signals," said Stuart a Rushworth, from UEA's Norwich Medical School.

"Patients often a relapse following treatment for cancer, because small amounts of a disease remain despite chemotherapy. Our research reveals that targeting this biological phenomenon a could help an eradicate leukaemia from the bone marrow," he added.

The researchers an identified these mechanisms in the bone marrow of leukaemia patients and mouse models of an acute myeloid leukaemia.

"At present, sadly chemotherapy is an often not enough to a cure people of an leukaemia. In the future, I hope our an findings will help an improve treatments for an people with leukaemia by priming their immune response to an help the chemotherapy an drugs work better," Rushworth said.