Understanding How the Immune System Normally Fights Cancer

Our bodies have a natural defense mechanism called the immune system that helps protect us from diseases. The immune system is made up of specialized cells, tissues, and organs that work together to identify and destroy threats like viruses, bacteria, and abnormal cells. When healthy cells become cancerous, the immune system is usually able to recognize these mutated cells as foreign and eliminate them before they can grow into detectable tumors. However, sometimes cancer cells are able to evade detection by the immune system, allowing tumors to form and grow.

How Cancer Evades the Immune System

Cancer Immunotherapy cells have developed multiple ways to avoid being targeted by the immune system. They may downplay the signals that mark them as abnormal or foreign to the immune system. They also work to deactivate or deplete the immune cells that would normally attack them. Cancer cells can even recruit other cells like regulatory T cells that help shield the cancer from immune destruction. These evasive mechanisms allow tumors to thrive unchecked by the body's natural defenses.

Reawakening the Immune System’s Ability to Recognize and Destroy Cancer

The goal of cancer immunotherapy is to unleash the power of the immune system to fight cancer like it would any other disease. Immunotherapies aim to counter the methods cancers use to evade detection and removal by the immune system. There are several different types of immunotherapy treatments that work in different ways.

Checkpoint Inhibitors

One approach is to block the "checkpoint" proteins that normally help keep the immune system in check and prevent it from attacking the body's own cells. Cancer cells sometimes express proteins that bind to these immune checkpoints and essentially put the brakes on an immune response. Checkpoint inhibitors help take the brakes off by blocking these checkpoint interactions and reactivating the immune cells. This allows the immune system to better recognize and attack cancer cells.

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