While working on the immune system, I accidentally discovered a new type of cell that kills most cancer. The new breakthrough can be a huge boon to cancer patients, as the newly discovered t-cell effectively kills most types of cancer cells. However, this has been limited to laboratories until now, and more long term research is required to develop the complete drug.
British scientists from Cardiff Medical University have accidentally discovered a type of cell (the t-cell) that destroys most types of cancer. As per Telegraph this could be a huge breakthrough discovery in the hunt for a cancer cure for all types of cancer. The doctor, while analyzing white blood cells in the blood bank, discovered a whole new kind of t-cell that carries a newer-before-seen receptor that acts like a grappling hook, latching on to most human cancers, while ignoring healthy cells, The Telegraph reports. In laboratory conditions, immune cells equipped with the new receptor, have been able to kill cancer cells from multiple organs, including the lungs, blood, bones, and kidneys.
According to Professor Andrew Sewell, head of the study, and cell type expert at Cardiff Medical University, this finding could be used for the creation of a universal cure for many cancers.
Cancer claims around 10 million lives each year in the world, and India’s share is roughly 8% of that. These numbers are alarming and are increasing every year with new methods and technologies for the early diagnosis of cancer.
The WHO data shows India has around 1.2 million new cases each year, and more than 50% of these cases will be diagnosed in women. Breast cancer has gone up by more than 39% between 1990 and 2016 and is the most common cancer among women. The Lancet report goes on to add that between 1990 and 2016, the number of cancer deaths in India increased by 112 percent. At the same time, the incidence of cancer cases also increased by 48.7 percent. The report also highlights that in 2016, the country had 67,000 lung cancer patients, of which 72.2 percent were men, and liver cancer also increased by 32.2 percent since 1990, with 30,000 cases reported in 2016.
New discovery on cancer cure
On any kind of infection, the body’s immune system starts working and acts as a natural defense against it. However, it also attacks cancer cells. Scientists at Cardiff Medical University, Britain, were looking for unconventional and undiscovered ways the immune system naturally attacks tumors. It was found that there is a t-cell that attacks and kills most types of cancer cells.
How does this t-cell work to cure cancer?
A team at Cardiff Medical University, Britain, discovered a T-cell and its receptor that could find and kill a wide range of cancerous cells in the lab, including lung cancer, skin cancer, blood cancer, colon cancer, breast cancer, bone cancer, prostate cancer, ovarian cancer, kidney cancer, and cervical cancer cells. Exactly how does this happens is yet to be explored and scientists are working on it.
This particular T-cell receptor interacts with a molecule called MR1, which is on the surface of every cell in the human body.
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It is thought that MR1 is flagging the distorted metabolism going on inside a cancerous cell to the immune system.
“We are the first to describe a T-cell that finds MR1 in cancer cells—that hasn’t been done before, this is the first of its kind,” research fellow Garry Dolton told the BBC.
What other experts say about cancer cure discovery ?
Lucia Mori and Gennaro De Libero, from University of Basel in Switzerland, said the research had “great potential” but was at too early a stage to say it would work in all cancers.
“We are very excited about the immunological functions of this new T-cell population and the potential use of their TCRs in tumour cell therapy,” they said.
Daniel Davis, a professor of immunology at the University of Manchester, said: “At the moment, this is very basic research and not close to actual medicines for patients.
“There is no question that it’s a very exciting discovery, both for advancing our basic knowledge about the immune system and for the possibility of future new medicines.”
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