Immune Cells Make Brain Tumors Spread Faster, but We Can Stop Them
Why the brain’s immune cells fail to notice cancer
Researchers have discovered how a glitch in the brain’s immune system can inadvertently cause an accelerated growth and spread of brain tumors. However, therapeutically “fixing” this failure to restore the activity of the immune system can halt the progression of these deadly, aggressive cancers.
“Glioblastoma is the deadliest type of cancer in the central nervous system, accounting for most malignant brain tumors,” explained Professor Ronit Satchi-Fainaro from Tel Aviv University, lead author of the study. “It is aggressive, invasive, and fast-growing, making it resistant to existing treatments, with patients dying within a year of the cancer’s onset.”
“Moreover, glioblastoma is defined as a ‘cold tumor’, which means that it does not respond to immunotherapeutic attempts to activate the immune system against it.”
Neural tissue is guarded by a specialized immune cell unique to the brain called microglia. However, until now, neuroscientists were not clear as to why microglia fail to detect and eliminate glioblastomas. Satchi-Fainaro and colleagues took a closer look at brain tissue samples from glioblastoma patients and made a surprising discovery.
