The idea behind immunotherapy is to dismantle a molecular shield that some tumors use to avoid an attack by the body’s white blood cells.
The immune system sees these tumors as foreign — they are fueled by hundreds of genetic mutations, which drive their growth and are recognized by the body. But when white blood cells swarm in to attack the cancer cells, they bounce back, rebuffed.
Immunotherapy drugs pierce that protective shield, allowing the immune system to recognize and demolish tumor cells. But the new drugs do not work against many common cancers, that's why these results are so exciting.
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