Could a cure for all cancers be just around the corner?

Cancer treatments have evolved dramatically over the past 200 years. In the late 1700s tumor surgeries were the only option. Modern oncology began in the 1800s. Today there are numerous treatments to various cancers, but one single effective treatment for all cancers still eludes

In January of 2020, BBC News reported that a team from Cardiff University had lab results showing their ability to successfully eradicate cancers of the prostate, lung, breast and other areas.

Within human blood are T-cells which are part of the immune system. These cells continuously search for threats to the immune system which they can then eliminate. The Cardiff scientists discovered a T-cell (and receptor) which kill various cancer cells without adverse affects.

This one-of-a-kind discovery has shown how this particular T-cell works with a molecule called MR1, which helps the T-cell locate cancer cells and kill them.

The Cardiff team is not entirely sure how exactly the T-cell and MR1 are able to locate and eliminate the cancer cells. However in labs, the treatment has proven to work on lung, skin, blood, colon, breast, bone, prostate, ovarian, kidney and cervical cancers.

Today there are already some similar T-cell therapies which have taken some patients from terminally ill to being in remission. But the results have been highly specific to certain patients with certain cancers, and ineffective at any tumorous types.

The new T-cell treatment would work by first taking a blood sample from the patient. Then T-cells would be extracted from the sample and genetically modified and duplicated. The modified cells would then be injected back into the patient.

Once injected, the T-cells modification allows them to methodically seek and destroy cancerous cells while leaving non-cancerous cells untouched.

Other cancer researchers from the University of Basel, Lucia Mori and Gennaro De Libero, have stated they see great potential in the new treatment, but feel it may be too early to tell how effective it will be across the board for all types of cancer.

"Previously nobody believed this could be possible. It raises the prospect of a 'one-size-fits-all' cancer treatment, a single type of T-cell that could be capable of destroying many different types of cancers across the population." - Prof Andrew Sewell, Cardiff University