New hope in the fight against cancer: A possible defense mechanism challenges old assumptions

Why do some people develop cancer after facing major risks while others exposed to similar conditions do not? A new research assessment has revived the possibility that part of the answer lies in the immune system’s response.

An article published in Cell discusses whether certain antibodies could influence a person’s susceptibility to cancer and the course of the disease. The immune system normally produces antibodies to recognize threats such as viruses and bacteria. Some antibodies, however, mistakenly attack the body’s own cells or proteins. These are known as autoantibodies.

Autoantibodies have generally been associated with diseases in which the immune system attacks healthy tissue. Researchers now suspect that some may not always be harmful. They could help the body identify cancer cells and mobilize a defense against them. If that possibility is confirmed, it could offer a clue to why some people remain free of cancer despite having a high risk of developing it.

Professor Jean-Laurent Casanova of the Children’s Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern, one of the article’s authors, said the immune system could play an important role in the emergence and progression of cancer. The researchers want to identify autoantibodies that may protect against cancer or influence how the disease develops.

The article also consults medical oncology specialist Professor Erkan Doğan, but the supplied text ends before his full assessment. It presents the research as a possible piece of the explanation, not as a single mechanism that accounts for cancer protection.

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The immune system could play an important role in the emergence and progression of cancer.