Immune-Boosting Drugs Could Enhance Cancer Treatment

Stimulating the body’s own immune system to fight cancer offers new treatment opportunities for patients and scientists have made the first step towards finding some existing cancer drugs that could help.

In findings published this week in the British Journal of Cancer, a study by scientists at St George’s, University of London shows that two existing cancer drugs, which are currently used to kill cancerous cells, could also have the ability to stimulate the body’s immune cells (white blood cells) into attacking invading cancer cells. This could improve patient survival and recovery by expanding treatment options and lessening the side effects that are often caused by current cancer treatment. But the researchers warn that there is much more research to be done before patients will benefit.

“The reason the body’s own immune system doesn’t kill cancerous cells is because they camouflage themselves as healthy cells. This means our white blood cells aren’t able to recognise the cancerous cells as being a problem. As a result, cancer is able to continue to spread, undetected by the immune system,” explains lead researcher Dr Wai Liu.

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