Cancer cells have been found to enter a slow-dividing state akin to hibernation to survive chemotherapy.
How cancer cells evade destruction, and what scientists are doing to catch them
Cancer is a tricky adversary, evolving a number of clever mechanisms to avoid destruction. From hibernating like bears in winter to escape chemotherapy, or using inflammation to hide from cancer-killing viruses, scientists are rapidly figuring out these tactics and developing new treatments to overcome them.
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Years after a successful treatment cancers can often recur when dormant tumor cells reawaken, but what wakes them up?
The inflammation makes it difficult for the viruses to take hold and replicate in the cancer cell and significantly limits their effectiveness.
Incredible research found cancer cells can use higher fat availability to starve immune cells of fuel and prevent them from targeting tumors.
Calcium nanoparticles can weaken cancer cells' defense mechanism from the inside, making chemotherapy drugs effective once more.
Yale researchers identified a “jamming signal” that cancer uses to hide from the immune system and importantly, engineered a synthetic immune protein that can fight back.
One trick cancer cells use to evade an attack is to shield themselves behind a particular type of healthy cell.
Mitochondria is best known as the power generator of the vast majority of cells, but scientists have found it can also act as an early warning sign when something’s not quite right.
“The cancer is effectively creating its own defence mechanism to evade immune attack and survive."
Inosine, a bacterial metabolite, plays a role in activating anti-tumor T-cells. And this specific mechanism helps explain how gut bacteria can modulate the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy.