Do you know
what a Rube Goldberg is? If you are old
enough you surely do, if not, Google it.
Sometimes it
seems as though our bodies are biological Rube Goldbergs. The
article below describes a new wrinkle in treating ovarian cancer. As I see it, the following concepts are
involved:
1) The body has a first line of defense; the
immune system.
2) In order to keep the immune system in check,
our cells carry with them protection, in the form of “immune inhibitors”
3) Some forms of cancer have somehow evolved to
protect themselves from the immune system by displaying their own species of
inhibitors. OVCA is one such.
4) So-called “immune inhibitors” can be used to
break down these defensive barriers – but not in OVCA, apparently.
5) This new research announces the identification
of an enzyme that is responsible for this bit of defense work. So….
It seems to
follow that, by “inhibiting” the enzyme it would be possible to defeat the tumors
protective armor, and kill the damned thing!
Nobody ever
said that cancer biology is straightforward, nor in the least bit simple!
https://www.drugtargetreview.com/news/102688/new-combinatorial-strategies-to-treat-ovarian-cancer/
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