Research Proves that the Immune System Can Stop Tumors from Growing

For the first time, researchers have been able to prove that the immune system has the power to stop tumors from growing, without actually killing the tumor.

For many years, researchers have been using a technique called immunotherapy to try and use the immune system to kill the tumors. This new discovery proves that there is an alternative to this procedure. When the immune system does not kill the tumor, they may be able to use it to halt the tumor's growth. This is a plausible explanation for why they have seen some tumors stop growing all of a sudden and go into an extended dormant period.

The researchers call this halt of the growth of the tumors equilibrium. During the period of equilibrium, the immune system works to lower the cancer's ability to duplicate as well as kill some of the cells, but it does not do it fast enough to eliminate or shrink the size of the tumor.

The theory that the immune system might play a part in fighting cancer is not a new one, It was first thought of over a century ago. They developed a theory called cancer immunosurveillance in which researchers suggested that if the immune system does recognize cancer as an invader, it would go after the tumors with the same methods it uses to kill invading infections.

The current method used in immunotherapy uses therapeutic agents that increase the odds for the immune system to be able to recognize and then attack the tumors.

But the treatment has become very controversial and in 2001 and a group of researchers came up with a major change in treatment and they called the new model cancer immunoediting.