Tricking the human body to beat cancer

                German researchers have presents a Trojan gorse method of attacking cancer, sneaking virus impersonators into the human body to unleash an anti-tumour immune offensive. Tested in only three people so far, the treatment claims to be the latest advance in immunotherapy, which aims to rouse the body’s own immune army against disease. Made in a lab, this Trojan horse is composed of nanoparticles containing cancer RNA – a form of genetic coding – enclosed by a fatty acid membrane.

                The particles are injected into patients to simulate a virus invasion, and infiltrate specialized immune cells. These so-called dendritic cells decode the RNA embedded in the nanoparticles – triggering, in turn, the production of cancer antigens. The antigens then activate cancer-fighting T cells, and thus prime the body for an all-out, anti-tumour assault.

                Following experiments in mice, three people with advanced skin cancer were given low doses of the treatment. All developed a “strong” immune response, the team reported in the journal ‘Nature’. If further trials find the therapy works, they added, the method could help pave the way to the highly-sought “universal” treatment for all cancer types.