Stimulation of the immune system against cancer
Cancer is considered by the World Health Organization (WHO) as one of the leading causes of death worldwide, reaching 7.6 million deaths in 2008. Among the most frequent we find cancer of lung, stomach, liver, colon and breast.
Although in recent decades there has been a great deal of progress in understanding why cancer appears, what its causes may be and what causes it, there is still a long way to go when it comes to finding effective treatments that achieve a high percentage of the majority of patients. the cases.
One of the new hopes of medicine comes from the hand of a series of drugs that stimulate the immune system, which have been shown to be effective in melanomas, and to a lesser extent in cancers of the kidney and lungs.
How does the immunological treatment against cancer work and act?
1) The immune system destroys malignant or tumor cells.
2) Certain tumor cells have on their surface a series of molecules that act as a shield.
3) Some of these drugs act on these proteins, causing the body's immune system (especially the lymphocytes) to be able to recognize the tumor and attack it again.
Immunotherapy as a treatment in the fight against cancer
Although the stimulation of the immune system is a strategy that has been working for decades as a treatment in the fight against cancer, from the last few years progress is being made in the knowledge of the mechanisms that allow our immune system to fight against cancer cells
Precisely these investigations have provided the possibility of the development of certain drugs, still mostly experimental, that train the leukocytes (the cells of the immune system) to detect and subsequently fight the tumor cells, dodging the so-called deception strategies that tumors develop.
At least for the moment the most positive results have been obtained in the treatment of advanced melanoma, which allows physicians to believe that it is possible to open a new stage in the fight against the disease.
More information | El País This article is published for informational purposes only. It can not and should not replace the consultation with a Physician. We advise you to consult your Trusted Doctor. ThemesCancer
