Natural killers: Cataloging immune cells for immunotherapy : Nature Medicine : Nature Publishing Group | Immunology and Biotherapies | Scoop.it
From www.nature.com - March 12, 2015 3:45 PM

RT @CeriFielding: Natural killer cells #Immunotherapy @NatureMedicine http://t.co/R37PGlyaLj" ;

 

Cancer immunotherapy—which trains the body's own immune system to fight tumors—has made medical headlines in the last few years, with analysts projecting that it could give rise to treatments worth $35 billion a year over the next decade. For the most part, cancer immunotherapy has relied on the power of T cells. Now, another class of immune cells—known as natural killer (NK) cells—that can function to kill cancer is nearing its big break. NK cells may hold the potential to kill off cancer cells without damaging healthy tissues or risking the T cell–driven inflammatory cytokine storm that can accompany other immunotherapies. But a complicated assortment of protein receptors that control their function makes NK cells unwieldy and unpredictable.

 

Dr. Porter, UPenn spoke Sunday at the 35th Annual Conference on Clinical Hematology & Oncology, held in La Jolla by Scripps Health.


Via Krishan Maggon