Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - This
weekend, scientists at the University of Pennsylvania announced that
they’ve made what they believe could be a huge breakthrough in cancer
treatment and screening with the creation of an “immunity passport” that
allows the body to accept foreign objects normally used for imaging or
during treatment.
According to a story aired by CBS News Philadelphia, the researchers created the “passport” to get past the immune cells in the body that work naturally to remove objects that don’t belong there. University of Pennsylvania Chemical bimolecular professor Dennis Discher, one of the individuals involved in the research, referred to the passport as a way “to get past the immune cells that act like customs officers, border immigration that sort of want to remove things that are foreign from things in the body.”
The researchers say the so-called passport is actually a particular protein already found in the body, attached to a foreign object which is then placed into the body. “It’s a piece of plastic. A small plastic bead and then the immune cells recognize this plastic as belonging in the body,” Discher adds.
“It’s a way to make materials be perceived by your immune cells as if the materials belong to you,” explains Discher, adding that he believes the discovery will not only contribute to more successful cancer treatment and easier imaging scans but will also help the body more readily accept things such as pacemakers.
Doctors and scientists are consistently finding more and better ways to treat a variety of cancers, thanks to ongoing research at universities like U Penn and other facilities. Scientists such as those in the “immunity passport” study also consistently contribute to clinical trials that test new drugs and other modes of treatment with hopes of conquering all kinds of cancer, including tough-to-beat types like malignant mesothelioma.
According to a story aired by CBS News Philadelphia, the researchers created the “passport” to get past the immune cells in the body that work naturally to remove objects that don’t belong there. University of Pennsylvania Chemical bimolecular professor Dennis Discher, one of the individuals involved in the research, referred to the passport as a way “to get past the immune cells that act like customs officers, border immigration that sort of want to remove things that are foreign from things in the body.”
The researchers say the so-called passport is actually a particular protein already found in the body, attached to a foreign object which is then placed into the body. “It’s a piece of plastic. A small plastic bead and then the immune cells recognize this plastic as belonging in the body,” Discher adds.
“It’s a way to make materials be perceived by your immune cells as if the materials belong to you,” explains Discher, adding that he believes the discovery will not only contribute to more successful cancer treatment and easier imaging scans but will also help the body more readily accept things such as pacemakers.
Doctors and scientists are consistently finding more and better ways to treat a variety of cancers, thanks to ongoing research at universities like U Penn and other facilities. Scientists such as those in the “immunity passport” study also consistently contribute to clinical trials that test new drugs and other modes of treatment with hopes of conquering all kinds of cancer, including tough-to-beat types like malignant mesothelioma.
