How an immune cell that destroys a tumor cell can make cancer worse

about the episode

When our immune cells encounter and attack a tumor in our body, they can nibble at a piece of the cancerous cell, but that’s not always a good idea.

This is because the immune cell can seize the antigen from the cancer cell – a molecule unique to the type of cancer in the tumor. When the immune cell subsequently expresses this antigen, it appears as if the cell itself belongs in the tumor. As a result, fellow immune cells consider it the enemy. end of the immune cell.

What can also happen is that this ensures that the tumor cell is not recognized as a tumor cell without the antigen, making it possible for this tumor cell to remain in the body without any concern. In addition, immune cells carrying such an antigen also appear to become slower. So all the bad news.

Although this process does not always happen, it is good to know as much information about it as possible. In immune cell therapy, the immune cells in the body are enhanced outside the body and then brought back again. Perhaps these cells can also be manipulated in a way that this cannot happen.

Read more: T cells that inadvertently nibble tumors help cancer evade the immune response.