TB Jab can help fight cancer, researchers discover

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Using the Baculillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG)-the germ used to inoculate against tuberculosis (TB), researchers have found a possible new mechanism to stimulate the body's own ability to fight cancer. The discoveries are published online this week in the British Journal of Cancer.

The researchers, Dr Wai Liu and Professor Angus Dalgleish from St George 's, University of London, say that this new data suggests a mechanism that vaccines may increase the anti-cancer activity of therapies that are available at this time. Although they warn that this research is in the primary stages and a lot more research is needed before the patients will benefit.

Human tumor cells outside of the body were carried out based on laboratory experiments; They showed that a small amount of BCG white blood cells to chemicals called cytokines, increase the chance of tumor cells are detected by the body's own immune system can instruct.

Lead researcher Dr. Wai Lazy explains:

"Cancer cells are known to camouflage themselves as healthy cells. This means that our responsible for immunity blood cells may recognize the cancer cells as being a problem not and so the disease can continue to expand.

This study found that a small amount of BCG-similar to the amount that will be managed in a TB inoculation-can help the immune system to recognize cancer cells as ' foreign '. The immune system could then attack these cells in the same way as they would any other infection. "

Cytokines produced as a result of the injection of BCG lead to a chain of events with the hijacking of the tumor and forcing it starts off the camouflage, making it visible to the immune system, so that the white blood cells destroy "foreign" cells now targets to attack.

The BCG-jab was tested on human cells of lung, breast, colon, pancreas cancer and skin. The results showed that scientists in Lung, breast and colon cancer, the restoration of their visibility of immune cells was increased. Cancer cells with less camouflage were within the limits of the laboratory-based research, then successfully targeted by white blood cells to destroy cancer cells.

Scientific knowledge on the use of drugs to boost the immune system against cancer is becoming more prominent. These discoveries give more proof that in the future this treatment method could make further choices for cancer patients that can be used in combination with existing drug treatment, the researchers believe.

Dr. Liu says:

"Using the body's own immune system is a relatively new way of thinking in the development of cancer treatments, and scientists are still building a knowledge base on it. If successful, this method of treatment can be used in conjunction with existing cancer drugs. It could potentially see patients less medicines, have fewer and less severe side effects and recover quicker. "

He concludes:

"This research is at an early stage of research, and so far has analysed the reaction of human blood outside of the body, so that more work is needed before these findings can be used in practice. The next phase will be for the development of a composite suitable for clinical trials. "

Written by Grace Rattue
Copyright: Medical News today
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Article reference:
"Supernatant of lymphocytes stimulated with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin can alter the antigenicity of tumors and encouraging of allogeneic T cell responses"
W M Liu and D W Fowler, a M Gravett, P G Smith, a Dalgleish from
British Journal of cancer, (9 August 2011) | DOI: 10.1038/BJC. 2011.306