The National Cancer Center Singapore has released a groundbreaking study revealing how cancer cells evade detection and destruction by the immune system. The research has opened up new doors for the development of cancer treatments, taking us closer to finding a cure for even the deadliest forms of cancer. The study, published in Nature Communications on March 27, was led by a team comprising members from Duke-NUS Medical School, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, the Agency for Science, Technology and Research’s (A*Star) Singapore Immunology Network and the University of Southampton. It highlights a new pathway – called Midkine receptors – that enables cancer cells and CD8+ immune cells to communicate with each other. Professor Gopal Iyer, senior author of the study, noted that cancer exhausts the immune system, rendering CD8+ cells unable to perform their protective role. Nevertheless, the study points to the potential of reactivating the immune system even after cancer has spread, indicating that multiple pathways may be used to treat cancer effectively.
