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Article: The war against the immune system
- Article from:
- USA TODAY
- Article date:
- October 1, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright Society for Advancement of Education Oct 1999. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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The immune system, the body's watchdog, often seems to nap while cancer sprouts and spreads, permitting the rogue cells to run wild. Using a speedy new method for analyzing immune system activity, a research team has discovered how the cancer manages to evade the normally watchful immune system. Although the body does make anti-cancer cells, these cells have been muzzled so that they won't attack their targets. Researchers from the Stanford (Calif.) University School of Medicine think that the cancer cells themselves may be causing this inactivity, shutting down their potential attackers.
Whether the immune system even responds to cancer has been unclear and somewhat controversial, ...