A research report published in the September 2012 issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology offers a possible explanation of why some cancer vaccines are not as effective as hoped, while at the same time identifies a new therapeutic strategy for treating autoimmune problems. In the report, scientists suggest that cancer, even in the very early stages, produces a negative immune response from dendritic cells, which prevent lymphocytes from working against the disease. Although problematic for cancer treatment, these flawed dendritic cells could be valuable therapeutic tools for preventing the immune system from attacking what it should not, as is the case with autoimmune disorders and organ transplants.
"Immunotherapy of cancer has been an elusive research target that, though promising, never seems to 'get there,'" said Jos- Alexandre M. Barbuto, Ph.D., from the Laboratory of Tumor Immunology, Department of Immunology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences at the University of S-o Paulo, in S-o Paulo, Brazil. "This study helps us to better understand the mechanisms by which tumors avoid immune recognition and rejection and may, therefore, teach us how to actually engage effectively the immune system in the fight against tumors, thus achieving much better clinical responses and, consequently, quality of life, in our therapeutic approaches."