Have scientists found cancer’s 'Achille's heel'? Is a cure any nearer?

Cancer is considered to be among the top five diseases that kill human beings today. Although a tonne of research has gone into finding a cure for cancer, it has so far been unsuccessful.

But scientists seem to have finally made a breakthrough in finding a way to combat the dreaded disease.

Researchers at University College, London, have developed a way of finding unique markings within a tumour — its ‘Achilles heel’ — thus allowing the body’s inbuilt immune system to target the disease.

The personalised method (which varies from patient to patient), has not yet been tested on human patients. Even once the method is perfected, it is expected to be hugely expensive, according to a report published in the Science journal.

The researchers, whose work was funded by Cancer Research UK, believe their discovery could form the basis for new treatment plans. Human tests are expected to take place in two year’s time.

There are two approaches being suggested for targeting cancers. The first is to develop cancer vaccines for each patient that train the immune system to spot them.

The second is to ‘fish’ for immune cells that already target those mutations and swell their numbers in the lab, and then put them back into the body.

While it is too early to say how successful the new tests will be, one should remain optimistic that we are one step closer to reining in the dreaded killer.

Courtesy: bbc.com